Born in Prince Rubert BC in 1925, Freda Deising was a Haida artist of the Sadsugohilanes Clan. Her Haida name, Skil Kew Wat, roughly translates to “magical woman.” Diesing began her carving career relatively late, at the age of 42. Due to early missionary influence and the continuing pressures of cultural adaption , Diesing had not seen much Northwest Coast art until well into adulthood. Her first exposure to her Haida culture was after meeting artist Bill Reid and seeing his exhibition “People of the Potlatch” in Vancouver in 1956. This meeting would inspire her to become a student at the Gitanmaax School of Northwest Coast Indian art in the village of ‘Ksan. She studied under several Master carvers, including Doug Cranmer, Tony Hunt and Robert Davidson, and has the distinction of being one of the first female totem pole carvers. Diesing taught carving and design in her hometown of Prince Rupert and several northern communities in Alaska and Kistumkalum and gained the endearment “Mother of Carvers.” Some of her students include acclaimed artists Dempsey Bob, Norman Tait, Don Yeomans and many others.
A Master carver, painter, educator and champion of First Nations art and culture, Diesing has received many awards and honours, including the National Aboriginal Achievement Award in 2002 . In 2006, Coast Mountain College created the Freda Diesing School of Northwest Coast Art, named in her honour. Her works can be found in prestigious collections, including the Museum of Anthropology, The Canadian Museum of History, the ROM and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. Although she is internationally recognized for her artwork, the cultural recognition and understanding that she has helped perpetuate through her teaching of Northwest Coast art forms are her most outstanding achievement.