Ally is a settler of Hong Konger descent residing in the DTES. She traverses activist, faith-based, academic, and clinical spaces. The source of her passions is rooted in pursuit of the Jesus-way towards “shalom”: true peace and flourishing for all creation. Shalom means rejecting the negative and superficial “peace” of the status quo. This is reflected in the series: “If I were a white girl”: a collaboration with Jamie Smallboy, a Cree activist for MMIWG founder of the Sweetgrass Sisters Healing Society. Ally provided visuals to Jamie’s powerful poem written from the perspective of a missing and murdered Indigenous woman.

The “If I were a white girl” series was originally intended to be a private gift to Jamie Smallboy. This was intended to be a form of embodied repentance from Ally’s identities both as a Christian: recognizing the harms done on behalf of the church, and as a second generation immigrant: acknowledging the indifference shown towards Indigenous peoples by many newcomers. Jamie, however, has generously encouraged for this artwork to be shared for the benefit of all to learn more about MMIWG. The artists hope that it ignites a fire inside each person to fight for justice for all MMIWG across Turtle Island.