Edith Josie

Edith Josie
CM
Born(1921-12-08)December 8, 1921
Eagle, Alaska
DiedJanuary 31, 2010(2010-01-31) (aged 88)
Old Crow, Yukon, Canada
NationalityCanadian, Gwich'in
OccupationWriter
EmployerWhitehorse Star
Known forNewspaper columns about the Yukon and Old Crow
AwardsOrder of Canada, 1995, The National Aboriginal Achievement Awards, 2000

Edith Josie CM (December 8, 1921 – January 31, 2010)[1] was a Canadian writer, best known as a longtime columnist for the Whitehorse Star.[2] Her column, titled Here Are the News, concerned life in the small community of Old Crow, Yukon, and was syndicated to newspapers around the world.[2] Her writing style was noted for its offbeat smalltown charm, not always conforming to conventional notions of English grammar and spelling but instead reflective of the informal way she spoke as a non-native speaker of English:

Even now the spring has come cause it is daylight around 11 o'clock p.m. Pretty soon we won't use light for night time. Everyone glad to see plane every day. Even the same plane come in one day, they all have to go down to see what is going on and what come in on plane.[1]

A Gwich'in, Josie was born in Eagle, Alaska, and moved to Old Crow at age 16.[2] She earned a living selling animal skins, which her father had taught her at an early age how to trap and prepare.[3] In her later years, Josie contributed to a community website, oldcrow.ca.[1] She was the subject of a story, "Everybody Sure Glad," by Dora Jane Hamblin in Life magazine in 1965.[4] In 1995 Josie was made a member of the Order of Canada.[1][5] The National Aboriginal Achievement Awards, now the Indspire Awards, honoured Josie for her achievements in arts in 2000.[3] In 2019, a bronze bust of Josie was created in her honour and displayed in Old Crow.[6]

  1. ^ a b c d Edith Josie helped bring Yukon to the world". The Globe and Mail, February 3, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c "Yukon writer Edith Josie dies". cbc.ca, February 1, 2010.
  3. ^ a b "Edith Josie Heritage and Spirituality (2000)". Indspire. 20 November 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  4. ^ Life 58(20):69+, May 21, 1965
  5. ^ "Star columnist Edith Josie named to Order of Canada". Archived from the original on 2019-01-02.
  6. ^ Rudyk, Mike (21 August 2019). "Gwich'in elder, columnist honoured with bronze bust in Old Crow". CBC. Retrieved 22 January 2021.