Virginia Beavert, a beloved Yakama linguist, educator, and elder, passed away at the age of 102. Her Indian name was Tuxámshish. Other Yakama Nation citizens who knew her as a friend and teacher also texted their condolences.
Virginia Beavert cause of death
Beavert passed away on Thursday, according to a brief post on Facebook by a family member but the specific cause of her death wasn’t stated.
Virginia Beavert obituary information
Beavert, a writer and World War II survivor, devoted her life to the revival and maintenance of the Yakama language, Ichishkíin, also known as Sahaptin. The Yakama people of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho speak it.
Beavert co-wrote the Ichishkŭin Sínwit Yakama / Yakima Sahaptin Dictionary with University of Washington linguistics professor Sharon Hargus. This is the first contemporary published dictionary of any Sahaptin dialect.
As part of the celebration of her 101st birthday, she signed copies of “Anakú Iwachá: Yakama Legends and Stories,” an extended collection of fundamental Yakama stories that she edited alongside Michelle Jacob and Joana Jansen. She attended an event held in her honor at the Yakama Nation Museum in 2022.
This is the second edition of “Anakō Iwachá, The Way It Was,” a significant cultural and educational work that was first released in 1974.
