Career
She was named a Washington State Living Treasure in 1989, and received a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment of the Arts, presented by President Bill Clinton, in 1994. She co-wrote Lushootseed grammars and dictionaries, and published books of stories, teachings, and place names related to her native region, the Puget Sound (also known as Whulge in anglicized Lushootseed). Hilbert was born to Charlie and Louise Anderson on July 24, 1918 near Lyman, Washington, on the Upper Skagit River.
Her father was a fisherman, a logger, and a canoe maker, whose canoe the Question Mark is housed in the Smithsonian Museum Archive.
Hilbert gave many interviews, however, one poignant interview with historian Julie Miller (who is also related to Hilbert via marriage), found that Hilbert was just shy of being put in the Japanese Internment Camps. Only after providing proof of her Native American heritage was she allowed to stay in her homeland.
Hilbert died at her home in Louisiana Conner on the morning of December 19, 2008. She was surrounded by her family at the time of her death.
The taqʷšəblu Vi Hilbert Ethnobotanical Garden at Seattle University is named in her honor.