Georgieann Denny Lilgreen’s story is one of deep connection, profound healing, and ancestral remembrance. Born in Ketchikan, Alaska, she is a member of the Tlingit tribe and was born into the Saanyakwaan clan in Saxman Alaska, but her formative years were spent in the remote Haida village of Kasaan Alaska on Prince of Wales Island. Life there was a world away from modern society—a place with no electricity, running water, roads, or stores. Survival was a daily practice of living in harmony with the land.

Her youth was spent in the rhythm of the seasons: as her family spent days harvesting fish, clams, crab, and deer; gathering wild greens like beach asparagus and goosetongue; and spending long summer days picking berries with half a smoked fish in her pocket for sustenance. Though they lacked modern amenities, she recalls, "we never felt poor." It was a life of freedom, community, and profound richness, punctuated by skiff trips to "town" for staples, which were often delayed for weeks and even months due to weather. she recalles  -I remember a time when a storm stranded us on a small island called Grindle for a week; for my brother's birthday, my sister gathered wild greens and made a beautiful salad. That is the world that raised me.

Her family moved to Sitka Alaska for her Jr. High years, and at age 18 Georgieann embarked on a new journey This path was not one of geography, but of the spirit. She felt a deep call to find herself and begin the difficult work of healing the generational trauma passed down from her elders and ancestors. It was a journey catalyzed by the guiding voices of her mother and grandmother, urging her to "remember who I was."

This quest for remembrance led her to seek wisdom in many forms. She traveled to the Amazon for a life-changing 13-day ayahuasca journey with the Kechwa people, participated in countless sweat lodges and circles with many different tribes, and completed a vision quest as a personal rite of passage. These experiences were not just for her own healing but were undertaken so she could authentically hold space for others on their own paths.

Her journey led her to Alderleaf Wilderness School, where she formalized her ancestral knowledge and became an instructor in survival and ethnobotany. For over a decade Georgieann has been sharing her expertise at the Alderleaf Wilderness College teaching ethnobotany, Primitive Skills and led many survival treks and survival adventures and went on to work at institutions like Bastyr University, with organizations such as Ravens Roots, and in partnership with Indigenous groups including Mother Nation and the Peacekeepers Society. A passionate advocate for the environment, she has been an active participant in causes like the Standing Rock movement to protect the land. At the heart of her work is a mission to help people forge a profound reconnection to the land and to themselves