Vi Hilbert and the Gift of Lushootseed
Upper Skagit elder Vi Hilbert was the last fully fluent heritage speaker of the Lushootseed language. She taught Lushootseed at the UW from 1971-1988, preserving the language for future generations. Seattle writer Janet Yoder studied Lushootseed with Hilbert — the beginning of a 30-year friendship.
In this presentation, Yoder will discuss the Lushootseed language and Vi’s life, drawing on her travels with Hilbert to Indian Country to attend naming ceremonies, memorials, Salish language conferences, and the observance of Treaty Day in the Tulalip Longhouse; in-depth knowledge of Hilbert’s work she gained as an editor of Hilbert’s publications; and extensive interviews.
Janet Yoder is the author of Where the Language Lives: Vi Hilbert and the Gift of Lushootseed. Her essays and short stories have been published in literary journals including the Baltimore Review, Chautauqua, Jet Fuel Review, Apalachee Review, American Literary Review, and Passages North. Her work has been recognized with a Pushcart Prize nomination and a Hedgebrook residency.
Janet lives with her husband on a floating home in Seattle, Washington.