DON LELOOSKA

– DON LELOOSKA –

Kwakiutl, 1933-1996

Lelooska was given his name at age 12 when he was adopted by the Nez Perce. It means “He Who Cuts Against Wood with a Knife” and has become a treasured family name symbolic of their work. Named Gixken, “Chief of Chiefs”, an old title, by the Kwakwaka’wakw (Kwakiutl), Lelooska is the first child of Shona-Hah and was leader of the family. Lelooska and his family were formally adopted into the House of Sewide of the Mamaleleqala and Qwiqwasutnox bands of the Kwakwaka’wakw by Chief James Aul Sewide. With this adoption the hereditary rights, crests and privileges of the Sewide lineage were bestowed on Lelooska and his family.

Although Lelooska was of Cherokee descent, he transcended the normal confines of any single tribe. His life was devoted to the quest for knowledge, which made him an authority on the Indians of North America. Of particular interest to him were “The Cedar and Salmon People”—the tribes of the northwest coast. He made preserving their arts his life work.

Lelooska spoke Chinook Jargon, the trade language of the coast, and was a student of the Kwakwaka’wakw (Kwakiutl) language. He was also conversant in half a dozen Indian dialects. His study of languages gave him insight into the traditional mind and enabled him to communicate freely with the Old People.