A Haida Wedding wins the 2025 BC & Yukon Book Award!
Congratulations to Gid7ahl-Gudsllaay Lalaxaaygans, Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson, and Guud San Glans, Robert Davidson, for winning at the 41st annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes with their title, A Haida Wedding (Heritage House, 2024).
Hosted by CBC broadcaster Margaret Gallagher, the awards gala for the West Coast Book Prize Society on September 21 (held at the University Golf Club in Vancouver, BC) announced A Haida Wedding the winner of the Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize. Williams-Davidson and Davidson will receive a $3,000 prize. Although the authors could not attend due to scheduling conflicts, members of the Heritage House team were present at the Gala to celebrate on their behalf.
In 1996, Terri-Lynn and Robert celebrated their wedding with a traditional ceremony, the first in over a century that was legalized under Haida law. This book provides an intimate photographic window into that momentous day and marks the resurgence of a tradition that was nearly lost to colonial forces.
Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson is a multi-award–winning Haida musician, an artist, and a lawyer, well known for her work in Indigenous-environmental law and as a keeper of traditions. She is the author of Out of Concealment: Female Supernatural Beings of Haida Gwaii, and co-author of Magical Beings of Haida Gwaii and Magical Beings of Haida Gwaii Colouring and Activity Book. Born and raised in Haida Gwaii, Terri-Lynn has dedicated herself to the continuation of Haida culture. On the front lines of Indigenous Rights, she strives to open new vistas to her audiences rooted in Indigenous world views, Haida language and laws, music, and oral traditions, and branches out to explore their relevance to contemporary society.
Robert Davidson has worked as an internationally-acclaimed artist for over 50 years with a passion to revive and perpetuate a variety of forms of Haida culture expression, including song, dance, and ceremony. His work is showcased in the National Gallery of Canada, the Vancouver Art Gallery, the Canadian Museum of History, and the Southwest Museum of Los Angeles. A leading figure in the renaissance of Haida art and culture, Robert has received many honours, including the Inspire Award, Order of British Columbia, Order of Canada, and the Governor General’s Award for Visual Arts. He is a founding member of the Rainbow Creek Dancers and of the Haida Gwaii Singers Society.
The jurors, consisting of Dalys Barney, Jamella Hagen, and Dr. Alyce Johnson, had this to say:
“A Haida Wedding works at reviving cultural traditions in BC, particularly with the Haida people. It has a softer note, and invites the reader to enjoy and celebrate the resilience of cultural traditions among Indigenous people in Canada. A story of resurgence and love, A Haida Wedding contributes deeply to our shared understanding of Indigenous peoples in BC.”
The BC and Yukon Book Prizes, established in 1985, celebrate the achievements of British Columbia and Yukon writers, illustrators, and publishers. The ten prizes are presented annually at the BC and Yukon Book Prizes Gala and are administered and awarded by members of a non-profit society who represent all facets of the publishing and writing community. Award winners are selected through a juried system, with five finalists in each prize category. The Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize is awarded to the author(s) of a book which contributes the most to the enjoyment and understanding of British Columbia and/or Yukon, and may deal with any aspect of the province and/or territory.
Learn more at bcyukonbookprizes.com
