This English-Haisla dictionary was assembled throughout the 1970s and early 1980s by Kitimat Centennial Museum Curator Gisela Mendel and linguist Hein 'Henry' Vink from the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, with the help of numerous Haisla speakers, including Jeffrey Legaik, Amelia Grant, Kay Grant, Louise Barbetti, Melissa Woods, Irene Starr, and others.
Custodial History
Retained by the Kitimat Museum & Archives; formally accessioned in February 2024.
Scope and Content
Flash cards containing Haisla and English vocabulary.
Notes
Words in green were gathered by Hein Vink and words in black were gathered by Gisela Mendel.
Comprehensive collection of dried plants with names and info collected from Kitimat and surrounding area. Includes black binder with lists of the collected plants, as well as some additional samples.
The Kitimat Flora Collection was assembled by Gisela Mendel during her tenure as the Museum's first curator (1969-1981). Gisela had a lifelong interest in nature and the outdoors and knew the medicinal properties of many plants from working as a pharmacist in Germany. During her early years in Kitimat, she collected botanical specimens to send to the Royal BC Museum in Victoria and documented a new species of fern. As Curator, she identified natural history as a key area of focus for the new Kitimat Centennial Museum. The Northern Sentinel reported in 1972 that she gathered new floral specimens each weekend to replenish displays at the Museum. One of her largest projects was the creation of an ethno-botanical dictionary with the help of Haisla elders from Kitamaat Village, identifying the Haisla names and traditional uses for various local plants.
Custodial History
Collected by Gisela Mendel.
Scope and Content
Comprehensive collection of dried plants with names and info collected from Kitimat and surrounding area. Includes black binder with lists of the collected plants, as well as some additional samples.