Delores Churchill facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Delores E. Churchill
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| Ilskyaalas | |
Churchill with a partially woven basketry hat, 2006
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| Born | 1929 (age 95–96) |
| Known for | Traditional weaving, language revitalization |
Delores E. Churchill (whose Haida name is Ilskyaalas) was born in 1929. She is a talented Native American artist from the Haida tribe. Delores is famous for weaving beautiful baskets, hats, and robes. She also works hard to keep the Haida language alive.
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About Delores Churchill
Delores Churchill was born in a place called Massett, on Haida Gwaii in British Columbia, Canada. This was in 1929. She learned how to weave in the traditional Haida way from her mother, Selina Peratrovich. Her mother was also a very famous master weaver.
Delores continued to learn more about weaving. She studied traditional Tsimshian weaving from other master weavers, Flora Matthew and Brenda White. She even studied at the British Museum to learn a special six-strand weaving style.
After working as a bookkeeper and raising her family, Delores focused on basket weaving again. At that time, Haida basket weaving was becoming less common. Delores helped bring it back. She taught her niece, Lisa Telford, how to weave traditional Haida baskets. She also learned a style called ravenstail weaving from Cheryl Samuel.
Delores Churchill is now a very important Haida weaver. She knows a lot about finding and preparing materials. These materials include cedar bark, spruce root, and special wool. Her art and knowledge are known all over the world. Delores has taught weaving and shown her artwork in many places. She has also helped museums identify old weaving pieces.
Her Amazing Artwork
Delores Churchill creates useful and ceremonial objects. She often uses spruce root, cedar bark, wool, and natural dyes in her work. Some of her beautiful artwork is shown at the Totem Heritage Center in Ketchikan, Alaska. She has also taught weaving classes there.
Saving the Haida Language
Delores Churchill is one of the few people who still speak the Haida language fluently. She has worked hard to share this important part of her heritage. In the past, both Canada and the United States tried to stop Native children from speaking their own languages. This happened especially in boarding schools.
When Delores was a child, she went to a Canadian residential school. Her teachers made her speak English and punished her if she spoke Haida. Even with these challenges, Delores has always wanted to save her native language. She often works with Haida children. She also helped her daughter, April Churchill, with language projects.
Awards and Special Honors
Delores Churchill has received many awards for her amazing work. Some of these include:
- Alaska State Council on the Arts fellowship
- United States Artists Fellowship, 2020
- Lifetime Achievement Award from the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, 2017
- National Basketry Association Lifetime Achievement Award, 2017
- National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, 2006
- Lifetime Fellowship Award, Rasmuson Foundation, 2006
- Connie Boochever Fellowship, 2003
- Governor's Award for the Arts, 2003
- First People's Fund Community Spirit Award, 2002
- National Endowment for the Arts, Creative Artists Residencies, Hull, Quebec, 1996
- Fellow, Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Quebec, 1996
- Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, University of Alaska Southeast, Juneau, 1991
- The Lisle Fellowship, Art and Culture in Mexico, Guadalajara, Mexico, 1991
- Alaska State Legislative Award in recognition of commitment to Native art, 1986
