Freda Diesing
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Freda Diesing (June 2, 1925 - December 4, 2002) was one of very few female carvers of Northwest Coast totem poles and a member of the Haida First Nation of British Columbia, Canada.
She was born in Prince Rupert, B.C., in 1925 and was one of the first students at the Gitanmaax School of Northwest Coast Indian Art ('Ksan) at Hazelton, B.C., in Gitksan territory. There she received instruction from the art historian Bill Holm, and the First Nations artists Tony Hunt (Kwakwaka'wakw) and Robert Davidson (Haida). She has carved masks and bowls as well as totem poles.
Her poles include two poles raised at the Tsimshian community of Kitsumkalum near Terrace, B.C., with the assistance of a Tsimshian team, a 1987 pole for the RCMP station in Terrace, and poles in Prince Rupert.
Her students include many of the most acclaimed artist working today: Dempsey Bob,Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, Norman Tait, her nephew Don Yeomans (b. 1958), and many others. She lived in Terrace in her later years, and can be credited with instructing numerous students throughout the pacific northwest.
Freda Diesing has received many honors and awards. She was recognized by the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation who awarded her the National Aboriginal Achievement Award in Winnipeg in March 2002. She received an honorary doctorate from the University of British Columbia in May 2002.
[edit] Sources
- Macnair, Peter L., Alan L. Hoover, and Kevin Neary (1984) The Legacy: Tradition and Innovation in Northwest Coast Indian Art. Vancouver, B.C.: Douglas & McIntyre.
- Stewart, Hilary (1993) Looking at Totem Poles. Vancouver, B.C.: Douglas & McIntyre.
