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Adeline Smith

English, Klallam(Native American Indian language)

1918 (America) –2013 (America)

She did several jobs. She worked as a waitress, and later as a welder. Most of her active life, she did odd jobs. On her return to the lower Elwha Klallam tribe’s reservation in the 90s for retirement, she started training Klallam language teachers under a programme designed to preserve Klallam history and culture. She created written accounts of Klallam oral history. She transcribed audio files of this language that were recorded in the early nineteenth century. She contributed 12,000 words to the Klallam lexicon which aided in the creation of the Klallam Dictionary. The Klallam Dictionary, consisting of 983 pages, was one of the largest books published by the Washington Press. She was an activist who fought for the preservation of Tse-whit-zen, a cultural heritage of the native Americans.

She was a native Indian American that lived in a time where native Americans were discriminated against, so she adopted an English name so as to fit in the society and be able to get a job. The first Klallam dictionary was published in 2012 by the Washington Press. The dictionary is a bilingual dictionary and it has a print as well as online version. The dictionary has Professor Tim Montler as editor, who was a linguist that Adeline worked with to compile the dictionary.

Klallam online dictionary: https://itservices.cas.unt.edu/~montler/klallam/wordlist/index.htm

Youtube video - interview of Adeline Smith: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeiM2G9eVqs

One of the last native speakers of her language, an elder in her tribe. At the age of 7, her native name was changed to Adeline Smith.

Mapes, L.V. (2013). Elwha elder Adeline Smith, cultural leader, dies at 95, The Seattle Times, 22/03/2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131204022022/http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2020614840_smithobituaryxml.html Valadez, J., & Arakawa, H. (2015). Lower Elwha Klallam. Native Peoples of the Olympic Peninsula: Who We Are, second. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, 21-35. Walker, R. (2012). Klallam people celebrate new dictionary, Daily News,30/11/ 2012. https://www.kitsapdailynews.com/news/klallam-people-celebrate-new-dictionary/ Photo: https://www.thespec.com/content/dam/thespec/news/world/2013/01/27/first-klallam-dictionary-opens-window-into-tribal-heritage/ab38ef954de497a2e494354c7adf_Gallery.jpg

Deborah Nebechukwu

María José Domínguez Vázquez