Ana was adopted from Guatemala City when she was 6-months old. She has Indigenous, Spanish and Portuguese roots in Guatemala and El Salvador located in Central America. Her adoptive parents are of Settler Scottish and English Ancestry.​ The name of her business was inspired by her name prior to being adopted which was Maria Celeste Molina Miranda. Ana is currently completing her PHD in Educational Studies at UBC in Vancouver. She is also a workshop facilitator, storyteller, counsellor, step-mother, fiancé , Sundancer and dog momma. ​​Ana is particularly passionate about working alongside Indigenous girls and women who have experienced trauma in their life. Ana is a survivor of many different forms of trauma. Through her western education and personal experience Ana hopes to inspire young Indigenous and non Indigenous people to speak their truth to be able to foster a stronger healing community network.
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APRIL 2025: It has been brought to my attention that specific individuals, groups and organizations including highly respected professors from the University of Victoria have been spreading false accusations about my Indigenous identity, this issue has been going on for 7 years and has recently resurfaced. Some words that have been used to describe myself is that I am a “fake” & “a fraud”. Other things that have been said about me include: that I was never adopted and my adoption story is a lie and that my masters thesis is a made up story, that I am full white just like my adoptive parents, that I have said I was adopted into specific Indigenous communities in what we so call Canada, that I misused/disrespected/the teachings Elders and Knowledge Keepers have shared with me over the last several years and that I claim Indigenous identity for my ego and to benefit my academic journey.
Some of you that are associated with these specific individuals are currently on my “friends” list, but this post isn’t for you. It’s for Adoptees like myself.
Here is what I know:
I was adopted from Guatemala City when I was 6 months old. My name was immediately changed and I became a “Canadian Citizen” and have lived in what we so call Canada since. I was adopted into a settler family. I have never been back to Guatemala or El Salvador. I know my birth mother was born in El Salvador. I do not know anything around my birth father. I do not speak a specific Indigenous language to Guatemala or El Salvador. I do not claim I am from a specific Indigenous community in Guatemala or El Salvador. I know I have mixed roots which include Indigenous, Spanish and Portuguese. I understand the harms of DNA tests and the colonial history around DNA tests for Indigenous people. I understand the complexities of Indigenous Identity in Central America.
I am NOT from a specific Indigenous community in what we so call Canada. I have NEVER been adopted into any Nation, Clan or Community in what we so call Canada more specifically those communtieis located on Vancouver Island. The diverse Indigenous teachings that have been shared with me are NOT my teachings but have influenced who I am today. My partner is Indigenous to what we so call Canada and I support his Identity journey as well too but I have NOT been adopted into his Nations/Communities.
For the past 24 hours I have cried several times. I have gone into my shell again. I have felt lime giving up on my dreams and all the work I have done. I do not have much more words right now to describe how I am feeling but I know when I speak my truth I have done my best. I feel awful and sick to my stomach.
Adoption in itself is complicated. Transracial and Transnational adoption are complicated as well too. I wish I knew more about my Indigenous identity but I don’t. I hope to return to my homelands someday and have clarity or find more answers about my lineage and ancestors. I understand that I may never get those answers. But all I can do is share for those feeling unsure or confused. I never knew that I could go back to how I felt when I was 18 years old. Back I go. I’ll get out of it. The harms that others especially women of colour have done towards me is disheartening but I know all of this is yet again a lesson.