Grant, Dorothy (1955 - )

Dorothy Grant was born in Hydaburg in March 1955, and grew up in Ketchikan, Alaska. She is a Kaigani Haida of the Raven clan from the Brown Bear house of Howkan. Among her family crests are Two-Finned Killerwhale, Shark, Berry Picker in the Moon and Brown Bear. She has produced a wide range of hats and baskets, in which she learned to master the craft from her grandmother. A fashion designer who is influenced by her cultural heritage and its traditions, Dorothy Grant "spins the 10,000 year old legends of the Haida into high style, fusing myth into each flawlessly designed and manufactured garment" (Feastwear, 1989). In 1988, Dorothy Grant graduated from the Helen Lefeaux Design School in Vancouver and began her company, Feastwear, that same year. She gained international recognition at her show at the Hotel Vancouver in 1989. In 1993, she won first place at the "Winds of Change" fashion show in Toronto as the Best Professional Designer in Canada.