Author and artist Hilary Majendie Stewart was born on November 3, 1924 in St. Lucia, West Indies. She attended boarding school in England and served for six years in the armed forces. She studied at St. Martin's School of Art. In 1951, she moved to Canada with her brother, where she worked as an artist for CHEK TV.
Stewart is best known for her illustrations and books on the art, artifacts, and cultures of the First Nations peoples of the Pacific Northwest. She published 11 books over the years, in addition to doing illustrations for publications by other authors. Her 1984 book Cedar received one of the first four B.C. Book Prizes that were presented in 1985. She also received a B.C. Book Prize for her 1987 book John R. Jewitt, Captive of Maquinna.
Stewart was associated with the Archaeological Society of BC for many years. She lived for many years on Quadra Island for 35 years, and later moved to Campbell River. She passed away on June 5, 2014.
Chief Joe Capilano (S7ápelek) (born on the traditional Squamish Nation territory in British Columbia and died 10 March 1910 in Yekw’ts, BC) was a Squamish Nation member who became one of the most influential Indigenous leaders in British Columbia, beginning in the late 19th century. His rise to this position was due in part to the encouragement of the Catholic Bishop who recognized S7ápelek’s devotion to his faith and his impressive abilities as an orator and leader. As the chosen successor to Chief Láwa Capilano, Joe S7ápelek became better known as Chief Joe Capilano and spent the rest of his life advocating for Canada’s recognition of Indigenous rights and title.
Jeffrey Johnson was born in approximately 1897. He was Chief Hanamuk of the Fireweed House of the Gitxsan people.
Canadian politician, in office 1965 - 1979.
Canadian politician.
Leader of the BC Social Credit Party 1993 - 1994.
Member of the BC Legislative Assembly for Vancouver - Little Mountain, 1966 - 1972 and 1975 - 1991.
First woman in Canada to serve as Deputy Premier (1975)
Karen J. Clark (née Kuil) graduated with a degree in Anthropology and Archaeology and a Teaching Certification from the University of Oregon. After completing her Master's in Anthropology, she accepted a teaching position in the Catholic Residential School of Lower Post (BC, Canada), where she moved in 1964. In 1965, she was hired by the school village to teach Indigenous children from grade 1 to 8 during the week and kindergarten on Sundays. The following year, she was transferred to Cassiar (BC, CA) where she taught the primary grades. In 1966 she was hired as the first teacher at a new school in Pelly Crossing (YT, Canada) where she taught Indigenous children who barely spoke English.
In 1967 Mrs. Clark went back to Cassiar where she married Paul Clark (a mining engineer). She continued teaching in Cassiar and, in 1968, published "Johny Joe" to help Indigenous students getting more engaged with reading.
In 1969, Mrs. Clark moved to Alaska, where she graduated in 1970 with a Master's in Teaching from the University of Alaska. That same year, she was hired at the Two Rivers School (30 miles from Fairbanks, AK, US) to teach grades 1 to 4.
In 1973, Mrs. Clark was awarded Teacher of the Year by Fairbanks and the State of Alaska. That same year, Mrs. Clark and her husband returned to Cassiar, where she was hired as a reading specialist to help teachers of the school district to teach and encourage reading among Indigenous children. In 1975, she published "Sun, Moon and Owl" with a grant from the BC Teacher's Federation.
In 1976, she took a year's leave of absence to gather materials to write a book for the Tahltan children that could be incorporated into the school curriculum. With help from many Indigenous people, she gathered materials from the Telegraph Creek area, resulting in the "Tahltan Native Studies."
In 1977, Mrs. Clark moved to Alberta, where she became the program specialist for the Rockyview school District. In 1984, she published "Language Experiences with Children's Stories" and "Once Upon a Time."
In 1988, she became principal of the Exshaw School, in Exshaw (AB, Canada), where the majority of the students came from the nearby Stoney Reserve.
Mrs. Clark retired in 1989.
After having graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Anthropology and a Teaching Certification, Karen, in the middle of her master's degree in Anthropology decided that she wanted real life experience with Native people. She applied to the departments of Indian Affairs in both the US and Canada and was very quickly contacted by Canadian Indian Affairs to teach for six months in a Catholic residential school in Lower Post, British Columbia, about 20 miles below the Yukon border. The following year (1965), she was hired to be the teacher of the village school teaching all Native children in grades kindergarten - 8. This was the last log cabin school in B.C. and her teacherage was an annex to the school.
The following year she was transferred to Cassiar, a mining town in northern B.C. There she taught the primary grades to both White and Native children.
In 1966, she became the first teacher at a new school that was to be built in Pelly Crossing, Yukon. All of her students were Native students, most of whom did not speak English. There was a trapping/hunting culture using dog teams only. She had the only vehicle in the village.
In 1967, she made the very difficult decision to leave Pelly Crossing to marry her fiance whom she had met in Cassiar.
For the next three years, she taught in Cassiar and in 1968 wrote the book "Johnny Joe" for her Native students, who had difficulty using the readers provided by the school.
In 1969, she and her husband made the decision to return to university and chose the University of Alaska because they wanted to stay in the north and also because the U of A had a reputation of having the best educational program for teaching Native children. In 1970, she received her Master's of Arts in Teaching and in the same year, obtained a teaching position at the Two Rivers School, a rural school about 30 miles from Fairbanks. This was a one room school and she taught grades 1-4. Having had success in her first year, the School Board decided to add another room and appointed Karen Head Teacher. Then, with another successful year, they decided to add another room. That year, 1973, Karen was awarded Teacher of the Year for Fairbanks as well as Teacher of the Year for the State of Alaska.
In 1973, she returned to Cassiar, where her husband obtained employment and she became a reading specialist helping the teachers in the Stikine School District to teach Native children. There she continued her quest to get better educational material for Native children, and obtained a small grant from the B.C. Teacher's Federation to write a book for Native children. The result was "Sun, Moon and Owl", published in 1975. This book was the most popular book requested by teachers and was republished 14 times.
In 1976, she obtained permission to take a year's leave of absence to write a book for the Tahltan people that could be used in the school curriculum. She, with the help of many Native people drove around the Telegraph Creek area to record the stories of the Elders and obtain photographs to show their culture. The result was Tahltan Native Studies.
In 1977, she and her husband moved to the Calgary area where she became a program specialist for the Rockyview School District. In 1984, she wrote "Language Experiences with Children's Stories" and "Once Upon a Time". Both books became required texts for graduate teaching students at the University of Calgary.
In 1988, she became principal of the Exshaw School in Exshaw, Alberta, which taught grades 1-9. Seventy-five percent of the students came from the nearby Stoney Reserve.
After suffering from some health problems, she retired in 1989. She continues to live in the area with her husband on a ranch located in the Foothills of the Rockies.
Agnes "Big Granny" Cranmer (nee Hunt) of Tsax̱is (Fort Rupert), carried the name Gwanti'lakw, meaning "born to be heavy (referring to wealth)." Agnes married hereditary Chief Dan Cranmer of the 'Namgis band of Alert Bay, and they had several children, including Bill and Doug Cranmer (Kesu'), and Gloria Cranmer. Franz Boas stayed at her house on one of his visits. Later, Agnes Cranmer and her first cousin Nunu (Helen Knox) gave Boas' descendants, Norman and Doris Boas, names at a potlatch. She taught traditional dancing for many years at the 'Namgis Band School and served as a resource consultant for the Learning Kwak'wala series (1980-1981) and for its accompanying teacher training program.
Josephine Gladstone (nee Wilson) was born ca. 1869. She married Charlie Gladstone on February 4, 1892. They had three children: Magaret Janet (ca. 1892), Sophia (1895), and Edgar (1897). She died in Skidegate on March 12, 1932 at 63.
Agnes Alfred (née Agnes Bertha Joe and also known as Axu, Axuw or Axuwaw) was a noble Qwiqwasutinuxw woman from the Kwakwakawakw Nation. She was known in her community as one of the last great storytellers in the classic oral tradition.
Charles Edenshaw (Da.a xiigang), was a Haida carver who was born in Skidegate (Saangga.ahl Sdast'aas Eagle Clan). It is recorded that he was sickly when young, and at this time began carving argillite. His father, a noted canoe carver, died a few years later, so at eighteen he went to live with his uncle, Albert Edenshaw, in qang (Kung) village. When Albert moved to Masset in the 1870s, Charles would have accompanied him. He married Isabella in a Haida ceremony around 1873. After choosing his english name, Charles, and surname, Edenshaw (based on the Haidi name Edinso), he was baptized and remarried in an Anglican church. He worked as a full-time artist for most of his life, producing painted bentwood boxes, miniature and large totem poles, masks, chiefs' staffs, argillite totem poles, and gold and silver jewelry. The objects were created for First Nations' use, as well as for commissions by collectors for major museums. Like other Haida artists of his time, Edenshaw did not sign his work. The works are usually attributed to his hand through a combination of stylistic analysis and provenance. Edenshaw was able to speak Haida, Tlingit, Tsimshian, Chinook jargon, and some English and lived and worked in numerous communities, including Sitka, Ketchikan, Port Simpson, Port Essington, and Victoria. He died at the age of 86 and is buried in Massett on Haida Gwaii.
Charles F. Newcombe was a British physician, botanist, and ethnographic researchers and collector. Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K., he studied medicine in Aberdeen, Scotland. He immigrated to the United States with his wife and three children, moving to Oregon, before moving to Victoria, B.C., in 1889.
Shortly after his arrival in Victoria he became an unpaid researcher at the provincial museum in Victoria, where he met people with whom he shared interests in botany, geology, marine biology, geography, palaeontology, and anthropology. [...] In 1895, with Francis Kermode of the provincial museum, Newcombe had travelled by steamer on an expedition to the Kwakiutl community at Alert Bay and to Haida Gwaii. On this trip, he began acquiring anthropological artefacts for his personal collection and he also established a practice of recording detailed field notes. In 1896, he became a founding member of the Victoria Natural History Society. By 1897, Newcombe had had a boat specially made for his fieldwork. The Pelican, a 24-foot double-ended Columbia River boat, was easy to row and to sail, could be transported by steamer, and permitted independent expeditions to the remotest areas of the coast. That year he returned to the same regions on his first major independent collecting trip. At the request of the provincial government he purchased a Haida totem pole for the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew (London) and he acquired artefacts for George Mercer Dawson of the Geological Survey of Canada. [...] By 1900, he had received commissions from major American museums. American anthropologist Franz Boas hired him to conduct research on the Haida history of the southern portion of Haida Gwaii. Newcombe was accompanied on this expedition by assistant, Douglas Scholefield, and Haida Chief, Elijah Ninstints. As they rowed and sailed together, Ninstints described the geography and history of his homeland, while Newcombe took notes and photographs, made sketches, and collected specimens. In late 1901, he agreed to work on a full-time basis for the Columbian Museum of Chicago, an arrangement that would last until late 1905. He acquired comprehensive ethnographic collections for displays on the Haida, Kwakiutl, Nootka, and Salish peoples. In 1904, he was commissioned to assemble ethnographic exhibits for the Louisiana Purchase exposition in St Louis that would include a group of Nootka and Kwakiutl cultural performers and artists, as well as a traditional Native house, a canoe, and other artefacts purchased and shipped for the event. He eventually developed a web of patrons, clients, and colleagues that extended throughout British Columbia and around the world.
For decades most ethnological artefacts from the northwest coast of Canada were purchased by foreign interests. Newcombe was dismayed that he could not interest provincial and federal governments in the collection and preservation of native artefacts and specimens of natural history. Since his overriding concern was to preserve these items for posterity, he was obliged to deal with American and other foreign institutions. In response to this situation, in 1911 the provincial museum at Victoria hired him as its agent. For four years he travelled throughout the province, compiling a major collection of artefacts. After 1914 his pace began to abate and he turned to researching and writing about the exploration history of the British Columbia coast. After a collecting trip to Alert Bay, he contracted pneumonia and died in 1924. From: http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/newcombe_charles_frederic_15E.html