Coast Salish: A Pacific Northwest Sea of Opportunities with Masen Brandon

16 November 2025
3:30 – 5:00 PM Eastern
Presenter: Masen Brandon
This is a free APG members-only event. Not a member? Join today! 

APG is pleased to announce the next webinar in our "New Voices" series for members. Join us on 16 November 2025 from 3:30 – 5:00 PM Eastern for Coast Salish: A Pacific Northwest Sea of Opportunities with presenter Masen Brandon, sponsored by APG’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. This event is free and open to APG members only.

The Salish Sea region of the North American Pacific Northwest hosts the land of numerous Coast Salish nations. As far as canoes can paddle, opportunity abounds. Relations span borders, languages revive and restrictive laws wane, despite interference from outside governments causing Coast Salish nations intense strain. Families made hard choices when aggressors blighted opportunities. Many historical narratives of the Pacific Northwest center colonial perspectives, eschewing Indigeneity.

This deficit means we must bring ancestral voices to the limelight. How can I prevent harm when researching these mighty cedar branches? Who can I learn from? What contexts included Coast Salish people in records? What value does genealogy have? Join us for this enlightening and thoughtful presentation.

Register for the webinar

APG's New Voices Series was created to diversify the narrative in genealogical research by providing a platform for emerging voices in the field, particularly those focusing on under-represented communities. The goal is to create a series of educational webinars which aim to enrich the knowledge base of APG members, fostering a broader understanding of historical and cultural issues impacting genealogical research. The New Voices series presents views of speakers that are not necessarily the opinions of APG.

 

About the Presenter

Masen Brandon is a professional genealogist specializing in Scandinavian & Pacific Northwestern families. He is a member of the Snohomish Tribe of Indians, making heritage of Coast Salish people a lifelong pursuit. Masen values learning part of an exceedingly rare language and listening to storytelling sessions from local tribes. Indigenous-centered research is an inflection point of his research, but on the opposite side of the world, Masen resided in Denmark for a time, facilitating lived experience in Scandinavian context, culture and language. When planning his business identity, Genealogical Factors, Masen’s background was in written translations (Danish & English), essay & fiction writing. He cemented the business’s bedrock with volunteer work, completing certificates at IIGS, and dabbling in a self-created Rikheim one-name study. Masen’s most unique offering is Family History 101, a class at the University of Utah.