William Ronald Reid (1920 - 1998)

Born 12 Jan 1920 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Ancestors

Died 13 Mar 1998 at age 78 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

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Biography

Bill Reid is Notable.

Bill Reid was a Canadian First Peoples and member of the Haida Nation.

Bill Reid is/was a significant British Columbian.

Bill Reid was a Canadian Haida artist whose works included jewelry, sculpture, screen-printing, and paintings

Family Life

Bill was born in 1920, the son of Scots-American William Reid and Sophie Gladstone (from the Kaadaas gaah Kiiguwaay, Raven/Wolf Clan of T'anuu, more commonly known as the Haida). In 1921, they lived in Stewart, British Columbia and their household consisted of: William (39, Head), Sophie (27, Wife) and William (1, Son); his father's occupation was a hotel keeper and his year of immigration is listed as 1908.^[1]

As a young man, he worked as a radio announcer in Toronto for CBC Radio. He married Mabel Inez Van Booeyen in 1944; they later divorced in 1958.^[2]

In 1981, he married Martine de Widerspach-Thor (Mormanne).^[3]

Work

Bill's work was influenced by previous generations of Haida artists including his great-great-uncle Charles Edenshaw and usually portrayed figures, animals, and scenes from Haida mythology.

His most renowned and popular works are his large bronze sculptures including The Spirit of Haida Gwaii, installed at the Canadian Embassy, Washington, D.C., The Jade Canoe, at Vancouver International Airport, and Chief of the Undersea World, at the Vancouver Aquarium.

He also carved jewelry and other works in silver, gold, wood, and argillite.

Bill is often credited with the revival and innovative resurgence of Northwest Coast Indigenous arts and Haidi art in particular. He was also an eloquent and outspoken proponent of Indigenous rights in Canada and was especially active in the battle to preserve South Moresby on Haida Gwaii.

Spirit of Haida Gwaii, the Black Canoe, sculpture by Bill Reid

Legacy

Bill received many honours in his life, including honorary degrees from the University of British Columbia, the University of Toronto, the University of Victoria, the University of Western Ontario, York University, and Trent University. He was also awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award, and National Aboriginal Achievement Award (now Indspire), and was made a member of the Order of British Columbia.

Two of his sculptures, Raven and the First Men and Spirit of Haida Gwaii were featured on the Canadian $20 banknote of the Canadian Journey series (2004–2012) and a 1996 Canada Post stamp featured 'The Spirit of Haida Gwaii, 1986-1991, Bill Reid'.

Death

After he passed away in 1998,^[3] his friends and relatives paddled Lootaas, a large cedar canoe carved by Reid for Expo 86, on a two-day journey along the Pacific coast to bring his ashes to Tanu Island in Haida Gwaii, the site of his mother's village of New Clew.

Sources

1. ↑ "Census of Canada, 1921," online database with images. Entry for William Reid; Province: British Columbia. District Name: Skeena. District Number: 21. Sub-District Name: American Creek. Sub-District Number: 18. Sub-District Description: Bear River Valley, Premier Post Office, Stewart. Family Number: 139. Page Number: 7. Reference: RG31, Statistics Canada. Item Number: 4632518. Library and Archives Canada: Censuses (https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1921/Pages/item.aspx?itemid=4632518 : accessed August 12, 2020).
2. ↑ "British Columbia Marriage Registrations," online database with images. Entry for William Reid and Mabel Inez Van Booeyen; Registration Number: 1944-09-575780, Vancouver, 1944-09-16. Marriage certificate Royal British Columbia Museum: BC Archives (royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/genealogy : accessed August 10, 2020).
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} "British Columbia Death Registrations," online database with images. Entry for William Ronald Reid; Registration Number: 1998-09-004392, Vancouver, 1998-03-13, Age at Death: 78. Death certificate Royal British Columbia Museum: BC Archives (royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/genealogy : accessed August 10, 2020).

See also:

• Wikipedia: Bill Reid
• Wikidata: Item Q615962, en:Wikipedia
• Sheenan, Carol. "Bill Reid". The Canadian Encyclopedia, 20 July 2020, Historica Canada. Accessed 10 August 2020. https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/william-ronald-reid.
• In Memoriam: Bill Reid (1920-1998). Canadian Museum of History.
• Bill Reid and his grandfather Charles Gladstone Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia. (atom.moa.ubc.ca : accessed 30 Jun 2022)