Where the Language Lives
Buy the Book
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | Bookshop.org | IndiePubs | Indigo
Product Details
Publisher: Girl Friday Books
Release Date: May 24, 2022
Formats: Paperback, Ebook
ISBN: PB: 978-1-954854-26-0; EB: 978-1-954854-51-2
Page Count: 240
Vi Hilbert and the Gift of Lushootseed
Janet Yoder
In 1978, Seattle writer Janet Yoder took a Lushootseed class at the University of Washington with Skagit tribal elder Vi Hilbert.
She was expecting to learn a little about this local indigenous language, but what followed was a lifelong journey with Vi, who endeavored to preserve a language on the brink of disappearance. Thanks to Vi Hilbert’s efforts and to all those who have now taken it on, Lushootseed is on the rise.
Drawn from thirty years of friendship, adventures, and interviews, Where the Language Lives is a tribute to Vi Hilbert’s life, work, and quest to preserve her native language. Her historical preservation efforts were recognized with a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, and she was named a Washington State Living Treasure in 1989.
To honor and celebrate the life and achievements of her dear friend and mentor, Janet Yoder has woven what she learned from Vi Hilbert with the story of Vi’s life and work to create these essays.
Ultimately, Where the Language Lives evokes the memory of a woman who profoundly impacted a culture, a history, the longevity of a language, and even the larger world.
About the Author
Seattle writer Janet Yoder’s work has been published in literary journals, including the Baltimore Review, Chautauqua, Jet Fuel Review, Apalachee Review, American Literary Review, and Passages North. Her work has been recognized with a Pushcart Prize nomination and a Hedgebrook residency. She lives with her husband on a floating home in Seattle, Washington.
Visit the author’s website at janetyoder.com
Reviews
“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 kən (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