Vi Hilbert

Who was Vi Hilbert?

Vi Hilbert was a Native American tribal elder of the Upper Skagit, a tribe of the greater Puget Salish in Washington State, whose ancestors occupied the banks along the Skagit River, and was a conservationist of the Lushootseed language and culture. She was named a Washington State Living Treasure in 1989, and received a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment of the Arts, presented by President Bill Clinton, in 1994. She co-wrote Lushootseed grammars and dictionaries, and published books of stories, teachings, and place names related to her native region, the Puget Sound.