Gloria Cranmer Webster facts for kids

Gloria Cranmer Webster (born July 4, 1931, died April 19, 2023) was an important Canadian Indigenous leader. She was a strong voice for her people, a museum expert, and a writer. She belonged to the Kwakwaka'wakw First Nation.

Early Life and Education

Gloria Cranmer Webster was born Gloria Cranmer in Alert Bay, British Columbia. Her father, Dan Cranmer, was a chief of the Kwakwaka'wakw people. She was also the great-granddaughter of a well-known researcher named George Hunt.

When she was 14, Gloria moved to Victoria, British Columbia. She finished high school there. Later, in 1956, she graduated from the University of British Columbia. She studied anthropology, which is the study of human societies and cultures. She was the first Indigenous person to be accepted into that university.

Working Life and Family

After university, Gloria worked as a counsellor for two years. She then worked for the John Howard Society for another two years. This organization helps people who have been in trouble with the law.

While working, she met John Webster. They got married and moved to Saskatchewan. They had a daughter in Regina. About a year and a half later, the family moved to Vancouver. There, Gloria worked as a counsellor at the YWCA, which supports women and families.

Gloria left her job for a time to raise her two sons. Later, she returned to work as a counsellor at the Vancouver Indian Centre. In 1971, she started a new role as an assistant curator at the Museum of Anthropology at UBC. A curator is someone who manages a museum's collections.

Protecting Culture and Language

Gloria Cranmer Webster played a key role in creating the U’Mista Cultural Centre in Alert Bay. This center opened in 1980, and she worked there as a curator for many years. She helped bring back important cultural items that had been taken from her people. These items were taken by Canadian authorities during raids on potlatches in the 1920s. Potlatches are traditional ceremonies of giving and sharing among Indigenous peoples.

She also worked with a language expert from the University of British Columbia. Together, they created a way to write down the Kwak'wala language. This helped to preserve the language. Gloria also wrote books that are used to teach Kwak'wala to new generations.

In 1973, she was the narrator for a documentary film. It was called The Potlatch: A Strict Law Bids us Dance.

Awards and Honours

In 2017, Gloria Cranmer Webster was given a very special award. She was named an Officer of the Order of Canada. This is one of the highest honours a Canadian can receive. It recognizes people who have made great contributions to Canada.