Ann Smith, Asha (b. 1952)
Ann Smith was born near Whitehorse and is of Tutchone and Tlingit ancestry. Her parents, Fred and Kitty Smith, lived at Takhini Crossing after Fred moved inland, and the family ran a trapline near Long Lake. Ann attended the Whitehorse Indian Baptist School and the Chooutla Residential School in Carcross. She was a student at F. H. Collins school and took a clerk-typist course at the Whitehorse Vocational School. She worked with the Yukon Native Brotherhood (YNB) and the Yukon Association of Non-Status Indians YANSI). She entered Business Administration at Camousin College and then trained as a radio operator/ broadcaster for Northern Native Broadcasting (NNB). In 1977 she worked as a Native Drug and Alcohol worker at Skookum Jim Hall.1)
In 1977, Ann was elected as a Whitehorse Indian Band councilor under chief Roy Smith. She served on the relocation committee, was a land claims delegate, and was a board member with the Council for Yukon Indians (now CYFN). She was elected chief of the Whitehorse Indian Band in 1988, the first woman to be elected to the position.2) From 1988 to 1990, the councilors were: Lena Johns, Joanne Bill, Billie Smith, Russel Burns, Watson George, and John Edzerza.3) Smith later served on the council for a year in the Joe Jack administration, and resigned to devote more time to her art. She was elected again in November 2006.4)
Since 1990, Ann has become well known for her Raventail weaving. Her best-known work is the Tlingit dance robe called Grandmother's Time which has been displayed throughout Canada.5) Smith weaves Ravenstail and Chilkat regalia including aprons, leggings and bags. Her work is contemporary and based on traditional knowledge.6) Some pieces she sold to Aboriginal Affairs in Ottawa in 1990 were the first pieces she sold. The robe, apron and leggings took a year to complete. Since then, Ann has travelled around the world from New York to New Zealand, teaching and learning from others. She believes that a weaver’s responsibility is to pass their skills down to others. Her son, Sean Smith, is a traditional dancer and he wore his mother’s robe when he danced with others at the Vancouver Olympics.7) Ann’s work is in the Yukon Permanent Art Collection and in the Indian Art Centre in Ottawa.8)