MAY 13, 1933

HA’HL YEE (DOREEN JENSEN) BORN– GIXTAN CARVER & EDUCATOR

Born in Kispoix, British Columbia, Doreen learned the Gixtan oral history, language, songs, and customs from her family.  After residential school and public high school, she attended the Gitanmaax School of Northwest Indian Design learning to carve from Tony and Henry Hunt.  In 1983, the Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia (UBC), presented her exhibit Robes of Power highlighting the importance of ceremonial regalia and the role of women in producing robes.  Jensen has taught Gitxsan language classes at UBC, and traditional arts at Emily Carr College of Art and Design in Vancouver.  A founder of the ‘Ksan Village Association and Society of Canadian Artists of Native Ancestry, she served as a Trustee of the National Museum of Nature, Ottawa.  In 1993, Doreen received the YWCA’s “Woman of Distinction” Award and a Golden Eagle Feather from the Professional Native Women’s Association.  She was also featured in the National Film Board feature, Hands of History. 

Source:  “Jensen, Doreen (1933-2009),” Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia.  Retrieved 3/10/2020, http://collection-online.moa.ubc.ca/search/person?person=1415&tab=biography
Mask:  Doreen Jensen, undated.  “Noble Woman with Labret,” Object 2635 (3/4 View).  Photograph by Derek Tan.  Courtesy of UBC Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver, Canada.