An Aboriginal Presence

An Aboriginal Presence

Isabella Edenshaw (1858-1926)

Haida basket maker Isabella Edenshaw (K'woiyeng) was a member of the Yakulanas (Raven) lineage. When she was a small child, her parents died of smallpox. She was adopted and raised by Albert Edward Edenshaw, chief of the Stelthdas Eagle lineage. She married Charles Edenshaw in a traditional ceremony around 1873, and in the Anglican Church in 1885.

While raising a large family, Isabella Edenshaw worked in salteries and canneries, and made and sold spruce root baskets and hats.

"My mother used to weave everything - placemats, hats, baskets with covers, seaweed baskets, baskets for carrying water..."

Florence Edenshaw Davidson quoted in Margaret Blackman During My Time.

Hat Haida British Columbia Before 1911 Made by Isabella Edenshaw Spruce root and paint Canadian Museum of Civilization, VII-B-899