Freda Diesing was a Haida woman of the Sadsugohilanes Clan, one of very few female carvers of Northwest Coast totem poles and a member of the Council of the Haida Nation of British Columbia, Canada.
13 Facts About Freda Diesing
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Freda Diesing was born Marie Alfreda Johnson in Prince Rupert, BC, on 2 June 1925.
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Freda Diesing studied painting at the Vancouver School of Art and was one of the first students at the Gitanmaax School of Northwest Coast Indian Art at Hazelton, BC, in Gitksan territory.
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Freda Diesing carved portrait masks and bowls as well as totem poles.
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Freda Diesing designed ceremonial button blankets and carved wall panels for the Prince Rupert General Hospital.
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Freda Diesing was part of the major revival in Northwest Coast art in the 1960s.
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Freda Diesing's poles include two poles raised at the Tsimshian community of Kitsumkalum near Terrace, BC, with the assistance of a Tsimshian team, a 1987 pole for the RCMP station in Terrace, and poles in Prince Rupert.
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Norman Tait 8.
Freda Diesing was a master carver, painter, educator and champion of First Nations art and culture.
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Freda Diesing's students include acclaimed artists Dempsey Bob, Norman Tait, her nephew Don Yeomans, and many others.
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Freda Diesing lived in Terrace in her later years, and can be credited with instructing numerous students throughout the Pacific Northwest.
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Freda Diesing was recognized by the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation, now Indspire, who awarded her the National Aboriginal Achievement Award in Winnipeg in March 2002.
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Freda Diesing received an honorary doctorate from the University of Northern British Columbia in May 2002.
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Freda Diesing has served as artist-in-residence in the Dominican Republic and participated in sculpture symposia in Finland.