For Immediate Release: Monday, October 30, 2000
Native American Month will be celebrated at the Aspen Hill Library on November 8 with an evening of storytelling by noted American Indian elder Vi Hilbert, a member of the Upper Skagit Tribe from Washington State. The free program will begin at 7 p.m.
Hilbert, a native speaker of Lushootseed, the indigenous language of the Puget Sound area, is the founder and director of Lushootseed Research, a non-profit organization founded in 1983 to preserve the language and culture of the Upper Skagit tribe.
She has published nine books, a dictionary, video, and audiotapes and has archived hundreds of tapes and videotapes to preserve the Lushootseed language and culture.
A regular speaker and storyteller at national and international conferences, Hilbert has received numerous awards recognizing her literary and cultural works, as well as for her efforts to preserve and perpetuate storytelling. She was named a Washington State Living Treasure in 1988, and her life and work are featured in the television documentary, "Huchoosedah," produced by KCTS (PBS Seattle, Channel 9 and Welch Public Broadcasting).
She serves on the advisory board for the Burke Museum and the Seattle Art Museum and is an active board member of United Indians of All Tribes and Tillicum Village and is called upon by many northwest tribes to provide cultural information as "a beloved elder".
For 15 years, Hilbert taught Lushootseed language and literature classes at the University of Washington and was an Evans Chair Scholar and member of the Faculty of Evergreen State University in 1995-96. She was conferred with an honorary Doctor of Humanities Degree from Seattle University in 1994.
The program is co-sponsored by the American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Committee of the Indian Health Service and the County's Department of Public Libraries in commemoration of Native American Heritage Month.
The Aspen Hill Library is located at 4407 Aspen Hill Road, Rockville. For more information call 301-871-2094.
Release ID: 00-400
Media Contact: Betty Valdés 240-777-0017