Elder preserves Lushootseed

Native language lives in womanHilbert has dedicated her life to the rebirth of Lushootseed. She worked in the linguistics department at the University of Washington for 15 years. In 1989, she received an honorary doctorate from Seattle University and was named a Washington State Living Treasure.

Hilbert has worked closely with linguists to develop a written form of Lushootseed and publish dictionaries for the language.