Isabel Rorick 

Isabel Rorick is Haida. Born in 1955, she grew up in her ancestral village of Old Massett . She comes from an unbroken line of weavers. Her maternal great grandmother, Isabella Edenshaw, her grandmother, Florence Davidson , and her mother, Primrose Adams. She grew up at a critical time in Haida history. Spruce root weaving, a once sought after trade item, was in decline. It was produced by only a few elderly women, of her grandmother’s generation, for the tourists trade.

Isabel was taught by her paternal grandmother, Nonny Selina, one of the last active spruce root weavers of her generation. Nonny Selina encouraged Isabel to continue weaving. Isabel has vowed to herself to always weave the way her ancestors did, using traditional patterns, natural colours, and free form.

Isabel has continued to study and learn about weaving hats. She began visiting the collections, at the Royal BC Museum (formerly the BC Provincial Museum), in Victoria. In later years, she extended her list to include several museums in Canada, as well as in United States. Her dream is to visit museums in London, England and Germany, to see the spruce root hats, and baskets in their collections.
Isabel has been weaving for over fifty years. She enjoys seeing her hats being worn, and danced, and her big baskets being used for gathering food. Her work is found in many private collections, and several museums around the world.