Archives West Finding Aid

Janet Yoder is a multi-discipline writer whose essays, creative nonfiction, and short stories have been published in various journals. Yoder has also written for the Seattle Times. Beginning in the late 1970s, Yoder learned under, and worked for, Vi Hilbert. Her husband Robert Rudine is an artistamp creator and curator at the Museum of Artistamps (MOA) in Seattle, Washington.

Vi Hilbert (1918-2008) was a member and noted elder of the Upper Skagit tribe. Her first language was Lushootseed, a Coast Salish language found in the Puget Sound region of western Washington state. During her long and productive life, Vi Hilbert played a major role in the revitalization of the language and culture of the First People of the Pacific Northwest. She became known as a teacher, storyteller, publisher, and public speaker. For over 40 years she built and maintained a research archive of cultural materials. Working with other scholars, she developed and published teaching materials and volumes of stories through Lushootseed Research, an organization which she founded. Her commitment to preserving Lushootseed language and literature is largely responsible for the renaissance of interest in Lushootseed culture and the growth of tribal language programs all over western Washington.