As an author, storyteller, artist and teacher, Pauline Hillaire of the Lummi Tribe has produced and amassed a lifetime of invaluable work in regard to Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest. She also has, for the past five years, collaborated with Dr. Gregory Fields, professor of philosophy at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
It was because of the significance and impact of her contributions that Fields nominated Hillaire of the state of Washington for the 2013 National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship. She is one of nine cultural artists selected nationwide. The 83-year-old will additionally be awarded the Bess Lomax Hawes NEA National Heritage Award.
The Bess Lomax Hawes Award is the nation’s highest honor that recognizes an individual who has made significant contributions to the preservation and awareness of cultural heritage.
“She has done so much to keep the culture alive and help it regenerate by means of her work with tribal youth,” Fields said, “and her teaching people of all ages and cultures, by means of her books and recordings. She is a magnificent and humble person.”
Hillaire works to carry on the heritage of Washington’s Lummi Nation and has been crucial in providing authentic research and information about the Northwest Coast’s arts and culture. Hillaire, known as Scälla, “of the Killer Whale,” is a Coast Salish Indian elder.
She has two books forthcoming from the University of Nebraska Press: A Totem Pole History (available in December) and Rights Remembered: A Salish Grandmother Speaks on American Indian History and the Future (to be released following). For more information about A Totem Pole History, visit the publisher’s page.
The books and media collections are collaborations with Fields and some of the recording for the projects was done at SIUE.
At an early age Hillaire learned about her culture from various elders of the Lummi Nation, also known as “People of the Sea.” Her grandfather, Frank Hillaire, was the last chief of the Lummi and a spiritual leader. Her father, Joseph Hillaire, was a legendary orator and master carver of totem poles.
Hillaire has helped preserve the ways of the Lummi Nation by carrying on the efforts of her grandfather and father, who founded the song-and-dance group, Setting Sun Dancers. The group performed for over a century in Washington and nationally. She has also taught classes on Lummi arts and culture at the Northwest Indian College as well as public schools, museums and cultural organizations in Washington.
The award will be presented Sept. 25 in Washington, D.C. Hillaire’s family will travel to the Capitol to receive the award on her behalf, and Fields will be in attendance as her nominator. Lummi tribal members will also perform at a public concert Sept. 27 in honor of this year’s NEA National Heritage fellows. To learn more, visit 2013 Fellowship recipients.
“I am truly thankful to see, after all her years of sacrifice,” said Fields, “that Scälla is recognized with the nation’s highest honor for cultural heritage preservation.”
Photo Information: Pictured is Pauline Hillaire. Photo courtesy by Jill Sabella