Bertha Francis remembered as 'beautiful' seamstress and keeper of the language

Mary Teya says she and her younger sister, Bertha Francis, used to do everything together: they grew up on the land, went to school together, and learned traditional skills like sewing and moose hide tanning side-by-side. 

Francis died on Jan. 21 at the Inuvik Regional Hospital. The elder from Fort McPherson, N.W.T., was 79 years old.  

Teya remembered when they first started working with moose hides alongside their grandfather at their spring camp. They weren't very good at it.

We talked a lot, we shared a lot, and we prepared ourselves.- Mary Teya, sister

"The hides were just full of holes," Teya said with a laugh, from her home in Fort McPherson. "But our grandpa said, 'That's okay.' He said, 'In time, it's going to get better.'"

Teya said she and Francis were still proud of their work, and they took that work ethic and pride with them throughout life. In more recent years, they sewed together. Teya said her sister was a beautiful seamstress and she'll miss their talks and time together. 

'She worked hard'

Along with a "beautiful" spirit and talent for sewing, many people remember Francis as a tireless interpreter and a keeper of the Gwich'in language. 

Francis was once the host of CBC North's Gwich'in-language radio show, Nantaii. And about two years ago at the Gwich'in Tribal Council's annual assembly in Aklavik, Francis spent 12 hours a day working to translate everything that was happening. 

"She worked hard," Teya said. "She helped lots in the community with the language and all the cultural and traditional ways of our life."

Teya said Francis also helped people in a more personal way. She said Francis's cheerful demeanour and outlook on life helped those around her. It's something people have been talking to her about since Francis passed, Teya said.

"One person said to me, 'You know, Bertha was so nice to me. I was way down there and she brought me all the way back up and I feel good about myself now and she helped me to be that way.'"

Teya remembers that kindness too, and a peacefulness about life and death. 

"We talked a lot, we shared a lot, and we prepared ourselves," Teya said.

"We said, 'We're now in our old age, it's the last part of our life and we need to make the best of it and be prepared for when our day is chosen.'"