Edith Josie (December 8, 1921 – January 31, 2010)Edith Josie helped bring Yukon to the world"
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The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', February 3, 2010. was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

writer, best known as a longtime columnist for the ''

Whitehorse Star The ''Whitehorse Star'' was a newspaper in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. History The newspaper was founded in 1900 about a year after the Klondike Gold Rush ended. The paper was originally called the ''Northern Star'', by was later changed to th ...

''."Yukon writer Edith Josie dies"
cbc.ca, February 1, 2010. Her column, titled ''Here Are the News'', concerned life in the small community of

Old Crow Old Crow is a low-priced brand of Kentucky-made straight bourbon whiskey distilled by Suntory Global Spirits, which also produces Jim Beam and several other brands of whiskey. The current Old Crow product uses the same mash bill and yeast as ...

Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...

, and was syndicated to newspapers around the world. 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: A member of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, Josie was born in

Eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, and moved to Old Crow at age 16. She earned a living selling animal skins, which her father had taught her at an early age how to trap and prepare. She was the subject of a story, "Everybody Sure Glad," by Dora Jane Hamblin in ''Life'' magazine in 1965, and served on the council of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation from 1968 to 1972. In her later years, Josie contributed to a community website, oldcrow.ca. In 1995, Josie was made a member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

. The National Aboriginal Achievement Awards, now the Indspire Awards, honoured Josie for her achievements in arts in 2000. In 2019, a bronze bust of Josie was created in her honour and displayed in Old Crow.

References

External links

Sample "Here Are the News" columns
republished by the Edmonton Journal 1921 births 2010 deaths American emigrants to Canada Canadian columnists Canadian women journalists First Nations journalists First Nations women writers Vuntut Gwitchin people Members of the Order of Canada Writers from Yukon Canadian women columnists Indspire Awards 20th-century Canadian non-fiction writers 20th-century Canadian women writers 20th-century First Nations writers 20th-century First Nations women Canadian women non-fiction writers {{Canada-journalist-stub