Hazel M. Sampson (May 26, 1910 – February 4, 2014) was an American Klallam elder and language preservationist. Sampson was the

last A last is a mechanical form shaped like a human foot. It is used by shoemakers and cordwainers in the manufacture and repair of shoes. Lasts typically come in pairs and have been made from various materials, including hardwoods, cast iron, an ...

native speaker Native Speaker may refer to: * ''Native Speaker'' (novel), a 1995 novel by Chang-Rae Lee * ''Native Speaker'' (album), a 2011 album by Canadian band Braids * Native speaker, a person using their first language or mother tongue {{disambigua ...

of the

Klallam language Klallam, Clallam, Ns'Klallam or S'klallam (endonym: Nəxʷsƛ̓ay̓əmúcən), is a Straits Salishan language that was traditionally spoken by the Klallam peoples at Becher Bay on Vancouver Island in British Columbia and across the Strait of Ju ...

, as well as the oldest member of the

Klallam Klallam (also Clallam, although the spelling with "K" is preferred in all four modern Klallam communities) refers to four related indigenous Native American/First Nations communities from the Pacific Northwest of North America. The Klallam cult ...

communities at the time of her death in 2014. She was a member of the

Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe of Washington The Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe is a federally recognized tribe of S'Klallam or Klallam Native Americans. They are on the northern Olympic Peninsula of Washington state in the northwestern United States. History The Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe was f ...

. The Klallam language is still spoken as a

second language A person's second language, or L2, is a language that is not the native language (first language or L1) of the speaker, but is learned later. A second language may be a neighbouring language, another language of the speaker's home country, or a fo ...

by some members of the four indigenous Klallam communities: the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe, and the

Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe (or Nəxʷsƛ̓áy̓əm ("strong people") in Klallam ) is a Federally recognized tribes, federally recognized Native Americans in the United States, Native American nation in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Olympic Peninsula The Olympic Peninsula is a large arm of land in western Washington that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle, and contains Olympic National Park. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and th ...

, the

Port Gamble Band of S’Klallam Indians The Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe, formerly known as the Port Gamble Indian Community of the Port Gamble Reservation or the Port Gamble Band of S'Klallam Indians is a federally recognized tribe of S'Klallam people, located on the Kitsap Peninsula ...

Kitsap Peninsula The Kitsap Peninsula () lies west of Seattle across Puget Sound, in Washington state in the Pacific Northwest. Hood Canal separates the peninsula from the Olympic Peninsula on its west side. The peninsula, a.k.a. "Kitsap", encompasses all of Kit ...

, as well as the Beecher Bay Klallam of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada.

Biography

Sampson was born Hazel Hall to William Hall and Ida Balch Hall on May 26, 1910, in

Jamestown, Washington Jamestown is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Clallam County, Washington, United States. The population was 361 at the 2010 census. The community derives its name from Chief James, a Clallam Indian leader. Geogra ...

. She was the granddaughter of Chief James Balch, the founder of Jamestown and the namesake of both the town and the

. Her parents taught her the

as a native speaker, though she later learned

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

as a second language. Her father, William Hall, founded the first

Indian Shaker Church The Indian Shaker Church is a Christian denomination founded in 1881 by Squaxin shaman John Slocum and his wife Mary Slocum in Washington state. The Indian Shaker Church is a unique blend of Indigenous, Catholic, and Protestant beliefs and pract ...

on the Olympic Peninsula in

Dungeness, Washington Dungeness is an unincorporated community in Clallam County, Washington, United States, located north of Sequim and on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Dungeness has a number of waterfront residential communities, but also features the Dungeness Spit, a ...

, circa 1910. In 1934, Sampson and her husband, Edward C. Sampson Sr., moved from Jamestown to

Port Angeles, Washington Port Angeles ( ) is a city and county seat of Clallam County, Washington, United States. With a population of 19,960 as of the 2020 census, it is the largest city in the county. The population was estimated at 20,134 in 2021. The city's har ...

. There, the Sampsons became one of the thirteen founding families who purchased and owned land on the Lower Elwha Klallam Reservation. She was married to Edward Sampson for 75 years, until his death in 1995. She was also a member of the Jamestown S'Klallam Band, which was established as a separate Klallam political entity during the 1980s. According to Jamestown chairman Ron Allen, Sampson, "considered herself a S'Klallam first. She associated closely with all three bands" in Washington state. Hazel Sampson was a key contributor in the work to preserve the Klallam language.

Timothy Montler Timothy Montler is an American academic and linguist. Montler is a professor of linguistics at the University of North Texas, as of 2013. He has worked to preserve the Klallam language since 1990. Montler collaborated with Adeline Smith, a Lower ...

, a professor of

linguistics Linguistics is the science, scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure ...

at the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School, ...

, began working on Klallam language preservation beginning in 1990. Montler partnered with Jamie Valadez, a Klallam language teacher at Port Angeles High School and member of the Lower Elwha Klallam, compile Klallam language materials and teaching tools. The two began work to save Klallam from potential extinction. Montler and Valdez collaborated closely with local native speaking Klallam, including Hazel and Ed Sampson,

Adeline Smith Adeline Smith (March 15, 1918 – March 19, 2013) (Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe) was an American elder, lexicographer, activist, and cultural preservationist. She was a member of one of four indigenous Klallam communities of the Pacific Northwest. ...

and Bea Charles. In 1999, Montler published several guidebooks and lesson plans aimed at teaching Klallam language basics through storytelling. Montler also published the first Klallam dictionary in 2012 through the University of Washington Press. He used terms and definitions contributed by Hazel Sampson, Smith and Charles to compile the dictionary. Hazel Sampson had declined to be named as an official member of Montler and Valadez's project, citing tradition. However, she collaborated closely with her husband and other members. The researchers believed she understood the Klallam language better than her husband and the other members of the project. According to Valadez, "She said, 'This is Ed's work.' She was very traditional."

died in March 2013, leaving Sampson as the last surviving, native speaker of the Klallam language. Hazel Sampson resided in her Port Angeles home until her death on February 4, 2014, at the age of 103. Her death marked the passing of the last native speaker of Klallam, though some younger members continued to speak it as a second language. According to Klallam cultural teacher Jamie Valadez, "She was the last one... er deathchanges the dynamics of everything...They carry so much knowledge of our culture and traditions." She was survived by five generations of descendants.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sampson, Hazel 1910 births 2014 deaths Klallam people Native American language revitalization Native American linguists Language activists 20th-century Native Americans 21st-century Native Americans American centenarians People from Port Angeles, Washington Last known speakers of a Native American language Women centenarians Women linguists 20th-century Native American women 21st-century Native American women