is a Cree, Métis, and Salish memoirist, journalist, essayist, poet, model, screenwriter, and public speaker from amiskwaciy-wâskahikan (Edmonton). Her debut essay “Soar” won first place in the Edna Staebler Essay Contest, and earned a Silver Medal at the National Magazine Awards.

She holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Columbia University—where she was the first Indigenous graduate—and later taught as an adjunct professor. After living in New York City, she returned to Canada and now lives in Toronto, working as Storyteller and Content Writer for Indspire.

Her work has appeared in HuffPost, The New Quarterly, Electric Lit, The Toronto Star, and Matriarch Movement. Her debut memoir, Soft as Bones (House of Anansi, May 2025), became an instant national bestseller.

Chyana is also a model and advocate for Indigenous representation in fashion, having worked with designers such as Lesley Hampton, Lindsay King, Dene Couture by Tishna Marlowe, and Ocean Kiana.

She is the founder of the Soft as Bones Storytelling Foundation, alongside her sister Chayla Delaney Rain, dedicated to healing through the arts. Its flagship event in 2026, the Woven Skies Storytelling Festival, celebrates all-Indigenous storytelling.

Her writing and creative work honour Indigenous knowledge, resilience, and the power of story. When she’s not creating, she’s traveling—always seeking new experiences, stories, and ways of being.

She is currently working on a short film and writing a magical realism novel.

Chyana is represented by Claudia Cross at Folio Literary Management.