Kaya Keller

Kaya Keller was born in the village of Tuba City, Arizona. During the summer, she spent almost her entire childhood with her grandparents at Howell Mesa, Arizona, in the wildness of Coconino County, near the Hopi Indian Reservation and the Native culture. She always had a very strong special connection to plants and had a profound respect for nature and its surroundings. Each morning she and her family worshipped the Navajo way, faced the east, uttered their prayers, and gave thanks by sprinkling the sacred corn pollen. Kaya loved hunting for plants for her grandparents and spending time camping and trekking with them. Her grandmother was an herbalist, so Kaya learned about plants from her grandmother. Having strong relationships with her grandparents helped Kaya become more conscious of her profound connection to the earth and learn many of the remedies and methods she teaches in her books and guides. Kaya began working with the United States Forest Service in college, collecting plants and trees and learning about their medicinal and culinary benefits.Through her career, Kaya realized that her forefathers relied on foraging for wild plants for survival and healing, as well as advanced agricultural practices to preserve seed variety. Their ancestors respected all creatures and plants and saw themselves as part of, not above, our environment. Kaya's purpose is to share her story in order to assist her readers reconnect with the natural environment around them and educate them on alternative detox methods from modern drug use.