Jenine Hillaire in the Artist Studio

About the Artist

Jenine Hillaire is an enrolled member of Lummi Nation and currently works at the Northwest Indian College on the Lummi Campus where she is full-time faculty in the Native Studies Leadership Program and researches traditional Coast Salish weaving technique and design. Jenine is mentored by Chief Janice George and Willard Joseph in the cultural practice and teaching of traditional upright loom Coast Salish wool weaving. With her mentor's encouragement and support Jenine holds regular weaving workshops and mentors several weavers in the Lummi community. Jenine holds four higher education degrees, including one from the Evergreen State College from the Native Pathways program in Indigenous Studies. She is currently working towards her doctorate in the department of Human Centered Design at Cornell University in Ithaca New York, where she has already completed a graduate minor in American Indian and Indigenous Studies. Her research focuses on the revitalization of endangered Coast Salish arts and community well-being.