About Us
Kwusen is a research, IT and media production company based in Victoria, BC who supports Indigenous communities’ governance of their territories. We conduct community-based research on Indigenous Knowledge, cultural heritage, traditional land use, as well as develop innovative digital tools to manage research data and land use consultations.
Our research and development approach emphasizes community capacity building by engaging community members in researching their own cultural heritage, Indigenous knowledge, and land use practices. In addition, Kwusen is committed to developing and providing user-friendly and secure software services with support to communities in order to augment internal capacity to manage community-owned data, mapping and the vast number of records produced through consultation processes.
Kwusen co-owners and Directors, Towagh Behr and Prarie Blake, are non-Indigenous and grew up together in Tla’amin territory.
We work exclusively for Indigenous communities and organizations.
kʷusɛn |“Koo · Sen”
Mainland Comox/ Comox Sliammon (Éy7á7juuthem) from the Tla’amin (ɬaʔaʔmɛn) First Nation, meaning ‘Star’.
Listen to the pronunciation on FirstVoices.
Kwusen is one of Founder and Director Towagh Behr’s names, decided in discussions between his family and Elder Elizabeth Harry, of the Tla’amin community with whom they shared a longstanding relationship. Given these origins, the name embodies the politics of relational accountability with which Towagh was raised and that underlie Kwusen’s professional approach as a company.
Logo Design
Kwusen’s logo was designed by Northwest Coast artist, Andy Everson. Andy is a K’ómoks First Nation member and his artwork draws on both his K’ómoks (Salish) and Kwakwa̱ka̱'wakw ancestral heritage. Learn more about Andy Everson’s work.