Where the Language Lives , livre ebook

Praise for Where the Language Lives
“Heartfelt and honest, Yoder vividly portrays the remarkable life of this astounding woman with style and determination.”
—Jay Miller, author of Lushootseed Culture and the Shamanic Odyssey: An Anchored Radiance
“Reading Where the Language Lives is like taking a long drive into Skagit Country with Vi Hilbert. I raise my hands to Janet Yoder for sharing her intimate visits with a beloved elder. Each essay is a beautifully- crafted treasure, and together they resonate as musically as an olivella shell necklace. Happiness, indeed.”
—Katie Jennings, filmmaker, Huchoosedah, Traditions of the Heart and The Healing Heart of Lushootseed
“ Where the Language Lives is a masterful presentation of the beauty and depth of Coast Salish lifeways, marvelously embodied in the life and teachings of Vi Hilbert. It is written in a flowing style, one revelation after another given just when the time is right.”
—Patrick Twohy, author of Beginnings—A Meditation on Coast Salish Lifeways
“This book arrives like a comet, bright and beautiful, illuminating a world of wonders in the life and work of Upper Skagit elder Vi Hilbert. It should be required reading for every resident of Puget Sound Country. It is a delightful and intimate look into the life and culture of one of the most respected elders of Coast Salish territory.”
—Lynda Mapes, author of Breaking Ground: The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and the Unearthing of Tse-whit-zen Village
“ Where the Language Lives is a profound and stunning book that captures the spirit of the treasured Upper Skagit elder Vi Hilbert with love and richness of detail. [. . .] Written with grace and insight [. . .] it chronicles the Indigenous culture that Vi Hilbert helped to preserve, which she shared over three decades with author Janet Yoder, among many others. If you live anywhere in the Pacific Northwest, you must read this book.”
—Priscilla Long, author of Fire and Stone: Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?
“Janet Yoder’s writing captures the spirit of this honorable and mischievous elder. In Lushootseed culture, words are spoken and stories are told without explanation. Words mean what the listener hears. You learned to be careful what you said in the presence of taqʷšəblu [Vi Hilbert]—you may have just made her a promise. A tribute to the life of a revered elder on a mission to save her language—all that is missing are more of taqʷšəblu ’s ‘R-rated’ stories.”
— dxʷtuk kʷi at kǝn (Jack Fiander), taqʷšəblu ’s longtime attorney and former student
“In Where the Language Lives , Janet Yoder weaves a strong, beautiful basket filled with stories of Upper Skagit elder Vi ( taqʷšəblu ) Hilbert’s remarkable life and work. [. . .] These essays (and photos) reveal Vi’s warmth, determination, and generosity and show her single-minded focus on resurrecting Lushootseed, the language of many of the Pacific Coast First People. [. . .] If you never had the good fortune to meet Vi, to hear her tell the story of Lady Louse, or to feel the warmth of her welcome, this generous book will introduce you to her and her work. For those of us who did know her, it is a shining testament to an extraordinary woman.”
—Sylvia Byrne Pollack, author of Risking It
“Vi Hilbert was a wisdom keeper and cultural treasure. If she’d had a mantra, it would have been ‘Stand up and speak.’ Janet Yoder stood side by side with Vi for decades, as her sometimes driver and frequent chronicler. Yoder vividly brings Vi’s generous spirt alive and magnifies her timeless work to keep Indigenous language and culture strong and enduring.”
—Ward Serrill, filmmaker and author of To Crack the World Open: Solitude, Alaska, and a Dog Named Woody
“ Where the Language Lives is a warm woven blanket of a book. With rich and reverent storytelling, Janet Yoder gifts us with stories of Upper Skagit tribal elder Vi Hilbert, continuing Vi’s tradition of deep generosity while sharing lessons of language and life, community and connection, family and faith. This book lifted my spirits, held my heart, and spoke to me in a universal language—love.”
—Kira Jane Buxton, author of Hollow Kingdom and Feral Creatures



Copyright © 2022 by Janet Yoder
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

Published by Girl Friday Books™, Seattle www.girlfridaybooks.com
Produced by Girl Friday Productions
Development & editorial: Devon Fredericksen Editorial production: Jaye Whitney Debber Cover design: Danielle Christopher
All photos courtesy of Lushootseed Research, unless otherwise noted:
Brad Burns: 95
Chris Duenas / Puyallup Tribal Language Program: 203
Paul Eubanks: Cover , 43 (portrait of Vi Hilbert), 48 , 49 (top), 84 , 140 , 188
Eugene H. Field / University of Washington Libraries: 106 (bottom)
Ron Hilbert: 37 (bottom)
Sasha La Pointe: 173
Chris Leman / EastlakeInfo.Net : 150 (bottom)
Carolyn Michael: xi , 172 , 193 , 207
Jay Miller: 72 (bottom), 106 (top)
Robby Rudine: iii (based on photo by Paul Eubanks), 12 , 33 (top), 43 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 83 (bottom), 129 , 135 (used with permission from the artist Susan A. Point), 154
Jay Samson: 120 - 122
Kenneth Greg Watson: 94 , 150 (top), 216
Janet Yoder: 63 (top)
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-954854-26-0 ISBN (e-book): 978-1-954854-51-2
Library of Congress Control Number: 2021925827
First edition

Contents
Foreword
Introduction
Where the Language Lives
Ten Things I Learned from Vi Hilbert
Vi Hilbert and the Gift of Lushootseed
Right Work
River Talk
The Old Canoe Is the New Canoe
The Brain Room
Healing Heart Symphony
Rich Old Indian
Lushootseed Is Written
Lady Louse Lived There
The Bone Game
Becoming an Elder
Burning at Nooksack
On Tape / Off Tape
Story Places
Finding Spirit
Wrapped in a Blanket
On the Outs
Elvis Sings and We Talk of Love
Vi’s Memory Is Her Treasure
Carrying a Name
Lost and Found
Basket Song
The Other Side
Lushootseed Continues
Acknowledgments
A Few Resources
Citations
In Memoriam
About the Author

Foreword
This collection of essays beautifully chronicles the thirty-year friendship between the author and my grandmother, which started in a classroom and grew into a lifelong familial connection. Janet Yoder takes us on a visual journey with each of her essays, recounting experiences so vividly that at times it feels as though we are right there experiencing them alongside her.
The stories shared in this collection wrap us in a colorful and vibrant tapestry of topics centered around the rich cultural life of taqʷšəblu , Vi Hilbert. taqʷšəblu was a distinguished member of the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe in northwest Washington State. She was a great-great-grandmother, a teacher, a scholar, and an internationally renowned storyteller. She was beloved and revered by many, both in Indigenous tribal communities and in broader diverse communities throughout the world. taqʷšəblu has been credited for saving her nearly dormant Indigenous language—Lushootseed—though she would give credit to the wonderful elders, scholars, and volunteers who contributed to her life’s work in a multitude of ways. It has been said that nearly everyone who can speak Lushootseed today either learned it directly from taqʷšəblu or learned it from one of her students.
The essays capture both humorous and subtle teachings about traditional wisdoms and expectations designed to help us navigate our ever-changing world. The cultural lessons and values embedded throughout this collection demonstrate the author’s profound and intimate appreciation for taqʷšəblu ’s culture and her unwavering commitment to her work.
For taqʷšəblu , preservation of the language, culture, and ancestral wisdom was foremost in all her endeavors. She carried herself in a way that her elders would have approved of. She strove to embody the traditional teachings she was entrusted to carry and share by example. Even when the old family home she had grown up in at Nooksack was destroyed by a fire decades later, she was compelled to call upon traditional healers to take care of the home in a spiritual manner, as described in the essay “Burning at Nooksack.”
While many of Janet’s essays illuminate taqʷšəblu ’s public persona, others more intimately capture taqʷšəblu ’s vulnerable and human frailties, which were visible neither to her general audiences nor to her adoring students. She was not immune to all the heartaches and disappointments of this world—and she endured her fair share—yet she remained strong and resilient. Her strength and determination were a testament to her parents, who raised her with the tremendous expectation—which she consistently rose to—that she was the best, but no better than anyone else.
Jill La Pointe, tsisqʷux̌ʷaʔɬ

To read these essays was a gift. As taqʷšəblu ’s great-granddaughter, I was touched to feel her presence in these pages. Janet truly knew my great-grandmother, and through the closeness the two of them shared over decades of friendship comes an honest and intimate portrait of a woman who meant so much to so many. I am honored to have known Janet for nearly my entire life. My great-grandmother embraced her as family, and throughout the years I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Janet at intimate family gatherings as well as Lushootseed Research events. Whether enjoying salmon baked in my great-grandparents’ backyard or devoting her time to language events, Janet has been a part of our family