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April Liu is currently a Mellon Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellow for Asia at the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver, BC. She completed her PhD in art history at the University of British Columbia in 2012, with a specialization in Chinese art history of the late imperial to contemporary period.

Since 2011, Liu has worked as an instructor in the Critical and Cultural Studies Department at the Emily Carr University of Art + Design, teaching courses on Asian art, visual culture, and global modernities. Her current research interests include Chinese print culture, contemporary Asian art, and the visualization of heritage and memory amongst Asian diasporas.

Ann is a retired, settler information professional who has a Master’s degree from UBC in Anthropology (1985) and an MLIS from the UBC School of Information (2008). From 2010-2018, Ann oversaw the Audrey & Harry Hawthorn Library & Archives (AHHLA) at the Museum of Anthropology (MOA) and managed digital projects and services for MOA. The Oral History & Language Lab is part of AHHLA and has led MOA’s involvement with the Indigitization Program. Being part of the Indigitization Program Steering Committee was a highlight of Ann's career, affording her the opportunity to work with and for Indigenous communities.

Alfred James Hanuse was born in Alert Bay to hereditary Chief Harry Hanuse and Mary Deborah Charlie. His siblings included: Lucy Marion (Adawis) Hanuse, Annie Laura Hanuse, George Harry Hanuse, Alice Ethel Hanuse, Alexander Hanuse, Daniel Edgar Hanuse, Frederick Clarence Hanuse, Florence Eleanor Hanuse, Wilfred Hanuse, and Stella Mae Hanuse. Alfred married Mary Hanuse (nee Alfred) and Alfred James (Jack) Hanuse on February 22, 1935. From: https://issuu.com/umista/docs/winter_2012

Alexa Fairchild is School Programs Manager at the Brooklyn Museum, where she works with a talented team of educators to host kids and teachers for fun, engaging gallery experiences. Alexa’s professional life includes serving on the Board of Directors for the Museum Education Roundtable and contributing as a peer reviewer to its publication, the Journal of Museum Education. She’s an avid presenter at local and national conferences, and served two years as president of the New York City Museum Educators Roundtable. She’s also on the Advisory Council of the Women’s International Leadership Program at International House. Alexa has worked at the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia (U.B.C.) in her hometown of Vancouver, Canada; Lower East Side Tenement Museum; and Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine. Her graduate degrees are from Bank Street College of Education (M.S. in Ed.) and U.B.C. (M.A. in Art History).

Alex Hanuse was born in 19[13?] in Alert Bay to hereditary Chief Harry Hanuse and Mary Deborah Charlie. His siblings included: Lucy Marion (Adawis) Hanuse, Annie Laura Hanuse, George Harry Hanuse, Alice Ethel Hanuse, Alfred James Hanuse, Daniel Edgar Hanuse, Frederick Clarence Hanuse, Florence Eleanor Hanuse, Wilfred Hanuse, and Stella Mae Hanuse. Alex married Gertrude (Gertie) Hanuse (nee Martin) on January 21, 1935. He was a logger and tragically drowned at the age of 37 in a boating accident on the Nimpkish River with his two brothers, Fred and Wildred Hanuse, on December 5, 1950. From: http://nativevoice.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/nv-1951v01.pdf and https://issuu.com/umista/docs/winter_2012

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.

Jessie Binning (nee Wyllie) was an important figure in the protection of the "Binning House" in West Vancouver and the emerging culture of West Coast Modernism. Her father was a businessman and one of the early entrepreneurs to trade with Japan and took Jessie on a trip to Japan when she was 19 years old, where she developed a lifelong appreciation for Japanese culture and art. Jessie Binning was also Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning's wife, who founded the Department of Fine Arts at UBC in 1949 and was a renowned artist and teacher in BC. Jessie and Bert build their modern house in West Vancouver in 1941 and she lived there until her death at the age of 101.

Derek emigrated to Canada in 1961 with his first wife Doreen. He held a post-doctoral fellowship in the UBC Chemistry Department, then a position as Clinical Chemist at the Health Centre for Children, Vancouver General Hospital. In 1969, he founded the Biochemical Diseases (later Biochemical Genetics) Laboratory at Children's Hospital. In this emerging discipline, he collaborated with scientific and clinical colleagues across Canada and around the world to diagnose and investigate children with rare metabolic diseases, teaching and publishing extensively and receiving many awards. He was a professor emeritus of UBC's Faculty of Medicine with appointments in Pediatrics, Medical Genetics and Pathology serving on Boards and Committees including parent support societies. He was a past President of the Garrod Association of Canada and past President of the Canadian College of Medical Genetics and involved in developing training programs for Biochemical Genetic Fellows. Derek retired from UCB in 2003.

The 14th Dalai Lama, is a Tibetan Buddhist monk who is considered to be the first Dalai Lama to become a global figure, largely for his advocacy of Buddhism and of the rights of the people of Tibet. Despite his fame, he dispensed with much of the pomp surrounding his office, describing himself as a “simple Buddhist monk.” He was born Lhamo Dhondup in a small village called Taktser in northeastern Tibet. Born to a peasant family, His Holiness was recognized at the age of two. In accordance with Tibetan tradition, as the reincarnation of his predecessor the 13th Dalai Lama, His Holiness is an incarnation of Avalokiteshvar, the Buddha of Compassion.

Art Thompson was born in 1948 in the village of Whyac and lived in Nitinaht on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. Hi father was Ditidaht and his mother was Quwutsun'. His father and grandfather were carvers and canoe builders, and his grandmother was an accomplished basketmaker. Art worked as a logger, a boat builder, and attended commercial art school before travelling across North America. He has been instrumental in defining the innovative direction of contemporary West Coast design, along with Joe David, Ron Hamilton, and others. As well as silk-screen prints, he produced wood carvings and engraved jewelry.

Alver Tait is a Nisga’a (Gitlaxdamix) carver and hereditary Chief of the Eagle-Beaver clan. Tait carved many poles raised in the Nass Valley and assisted with the carving of two red cedar canoes in 1980, with his brother Norman Tait who taught him to carve. He also worked with Norman on the Beaver Pole that was raised at the Field Museum in Chicago. In recognition of his craftsmanship, Tait was selected by the City of Vancouver to carve a Nisga’a Eagle bowl, which was later presented to Queen Elizabeth II. He was also asked by the British Museum to restore a pole carved in the 1860s, which was originally a monument to his great-great grandfather, Luuya’as, carrying the Eagle-Beaver crest image. In 2006, he received the Order of British Columbia.

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.

Ozistalis (Chief Henry Speck) worked as a fisherman, dancer, and song writer. He became chief of the Tlawitsis Nation when he succeeded his father. In the early 1960s, he became artistic director of the Kwakiutl House Project in Alert Bay, where he also pursued his artistic skills; he taught carving and dancing in Alert Bay. "His unique approach to Kwakwaka'wakw design opened a new range of possibilities for a generation of artists" (Ayotte, Gallery of Tribal Art, 1995). He was commissioned by Gyula Mayer, a Vancouver art and antiques dealer, who was interested in collecting Northwest Coast pieces for his gallery; it was Mayer who encouraged Speck to paint with watercolours. Many of these paintings by Speck and other artists at the time were sold to private collectors, museums, or were collected by Mayer. "...Speck's paintings speak to the viewer with a clarity and a sense of immediacy. A striking aspect of Speck's work is its ability to invoke a three-dimensional "space" within the confines of a limited design field" (Ayotte, 1995).

Chief Dan George, was a Tsleil-Waututh actor, poet, writer, activist, and public speaker who was chief of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation from 1951 to 1963. Born Geswanouth Slahoot, Dan George was raised on the Burrard reserve in North Vancouver. He received his English name, Dan George, at St. Paul’s residential school, where he was sent when he was five years old. Before he started acting at the age of 60, George had worked as longshoreman, construction worker, school-bus driver, logger and itinerant musician. By his film roles and personal appearances, Dan George helped improve the popular image of Indigenous people, often represented in stereotypical ways. George earned an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor for his role in Little Big Man (1970) and won other awards for this role, including from the National Society of Film Critics and the New York Film Critics Circle. He was married to his wife, Amy George, for 51 years and was father to six: Amy Marie, Ann, Irene, Rose, Leonard, and Robert.

Doreen Jensen, also known as Hahl Yee, was born on May 13 1933 in Kispiox, just north of Hazelton, British Columbia. The name Hahl Yee belongs to the Killerwhale family crest from the House of Geel of the Fireweed Clan. Jensen attended the Gitanmaax School of Northwest Indian Design where she learned to carve under the guidance of Tony and Henry Hunt. Doreen Jensen was also known for her work promoting aboriginal artwork, teaching Gitxsan language classes, and helping to revitalize traditional practices. She was a respected cultural leader and historian. In 1983, she curated an exhibit at MOA entitled “Robes of Power” which emphasized the strength of traditional design and craftsmanship. The exhibited highlighted the importance of regalia to First Nation ceremonies and the key role that women played in producing robes. Jensen went on to teach Gitxsan language classes at UBC and traditional art practices such as drum making, cedar baskets and bead work at Emily Carr College of Art and Design in Vancouver. In 1993, Doreen Jensen was acknowledged by the Vancouver YMCA and was rewarded with the “Woman of Distinction” award. She also received the Golden Eagle Feather from the Professional Native Women’s Association and has been honoured with a name given to her by James Sewid and family at one of their potlatches. In 2008, she was also nominated for the BC Governor General Award in recognition of her passion for culture and tradition. Jensen passed away in 2009 leaving behind a lifetime of contribution to a revitalizing First Nation culture, language and artwork.

Doug Cranmer was born in Alert Bay, son of Chief Dan Cranmer and Agnes Hunt Cranmer. He set the standard of innovation for Kwakwaka'wakw art. His first formal instruction was in Victoria under Mungo Martin, in 1959. He worked with Bill Reid on UBC's Haida Village project c. 1959-62, and on the restoration of totem poles in Vancouver's Stanley Park. After completing the UBC project in 1962, Cranmer (with A.J. Scow and Dick Bird) founded a retail gallery, The Talking Stick. This was one of the few initiatives at the time through which First Nations art was marketed by First Nations people. Cranmer had totem pole commissions from around the world, and is considered an innovative master of flat design. His exhibitions include, Arts of the Raven, 1967, and the B.C. Pavillion at Expo '70, in Osaka Japan. His influence as a teacher was also significant, he taught at 'Ksan, the Vancouver Museum, and at Alert Bay, since 1977. He worked as an artist in residence at MOA in 1995. Doug was a hereditary chief of the 'Namgis band, and had also worked as a fisherman and a hand logger. He was an inspiration to his home community, contributing extensively to the construction of the U'mista Cultural Centre and the Bighouse at Alert Bay.

Dempsey Bob was born at Telegraph Creek on the Stikine River, in 1948. His mother was Flossie Carlick (Wolf); his father was Johnnie Bob (Raven). He began carving in 1970, and although he prefers wood, he also works in metals. Dempsey studied first with Freda Diesing and then at 'Ksan. Dempsey has focused on creating contemporary works that are classic Tlingit in style. His finely detailed carved wood masks translate into powerful bronze works. He went to Cara, Italy and studied with artisans working in bronze in the classic Italian tradition; this knowledge helped refine his style for bronze casting in which he is now an acknowledged master.

Bill Holm was an American art historian, Kwak'wala language speaker, and author, focused on Indigenous Northwest Coast art. He created artworks, and taught Northwest Coast style, including form line design. Bill and his wife, Marty, had a close friendship with Mungo Martin and were well respected by the Kwakwaka'wakw, the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian peoples and his family members were given Kwakwaka'wakw names. He was Professor Emeritus of Art History, and Curator Emeritus of Northwest Coast Indian Art at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, and occasionally lectured at the University of Washington in Seattle. Holm is recognized internationally as one of the most knowledgeable experts in the field of Northwest Coast Native art history.

Holm's 1965 book "Northwest Coast Indian Art: An Analysis of Form" has for decades been the standard introductory text in the field. The 18th printing, the 50th-anniversary edition, was published in 2014 with new commentary.