Jiixa Gladys Minnie Vandal: May 19, 1938 - Sept. 2, 2023
Haida Elder Jiixa Gladys Vandal was renowned on Haida Gwai’i and beyond, first for her bark and root weaving and then for her commitment to documenting her dialect while first-language speakers like her were still alive. But her much bigger gift to the world was her lifelong enthusiasm for sharing her knowledge and skills with anyone who wanted to learn from her, says Haida Elder Diane Brown (GwaaGanad). Ms. Brown was reminded of that recently while looking at a 1978 photo of Haida people in ceremony, in which only one of them wore a traditional hat of woven cedar bark. “Now, everyone’s got one,” Ms. Brown says. “That’s because of Jiixa. Anyone who wanted to learn how to weave, all you had to do was bring your own bark and Jiixa would teach you. And she taught the Haida language to so many people.” She was born Gladys Minnie Hans on May 19, 1938 on Haida Gwai’i, to Kathleen and Isaac Hans. The youngest of 10 children, she grew up in Skidegate feeling pampered and loved, says dau...