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Grant, Dorothy


GRANT, Dorothy, fashion designer (b Mar 1955, Hydaburg, AK). A member of the Kaigani HAIDA nation with roots in the QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS, she grew up in Ketchikan, AK, and began making button blankets in the 1970s under the tutelage of her grandmother, Florence DAVIDSON. In 1986 she began designing clothing; she soon emerged as Canada's leading aboriginal fashion designer. Designs and materials of her clothing, from casual wear to high fashion, reflect her Haida background. She opened a retail store in VANCOUVER in 1994, and museums and art galleries around the world have collected her work. In 1999 she received an Aboriginal Achievement Award and she holds an honorary degree from UNBC. She was named to the Order of Canada in 2014.