Tribute to Jane H. Hill

I met Jane when I came to WSU, Detroit as a young Master’s student. She was so welcoming and amazingly for me – while we were both copying piles of papers and books, she invited me to join her as well as her family on their way to San Miguel Canoa. So in the summer we set of for México and she has put me on a track of personal experience and research which has continued since then, albeit with a focus on ethnopharmacology.

Dear all, Everything said here resonates with my own experience of Jane: the most brilliant, erudite, encyclopedic, yet thoroughly unpretentious and deliciously irreverent mentor I have had the honor to work with. I wanted to share the link to Planet in My Pocket, both for those who know the film, and for those who have never seen this side of Jane in action. I believe it was Melissa McCormick who spoke at the memorial about one of Jane's costumes at an Anthro Halloween party, and I feel like the seeds of the Pink Lady may have been sown at one these parties. Another year, she went as a "person without history". In the WWJD department, I always think of Jane as the antidote to pretentiousness and self-importance in academia and beyond. In case anyone needs a reminder: https://vimeo.com/231625529 Sending my deepest condolences, and fondest memories, to all who loved her.

Jane Hill was the most brilliant, funny, down-to-earth person I have ever known. I am teaching Jane's work in my Problems in Anthropology class at UMASS Amherst (fulfills the Junior Year Writing required for majors). Her focus on everyday white racism through the practices of mock Spanish speaks powerfully to racial formation particularly in an era of normalized anti-immigration. The Voices of Don Gabriel lives on in my work and heart and that of so many others. Rest in peace. You are ever my hero.

Jane Hill was very supportive of my work when a focus on signed language was not popular. She also shared how she managed her tremendous workload with her private life. She has been present throughout my career, and I will miss her. It is hard to wrap my head around her passing November 2nd, and Misty Jaffe passing November 20th. We lost two prominent figures in linguistic anthropology. I appreciate Ana Carla Bruno's comment for Jane to "inspire the angels as you inspired your students". What a wonderful thing to say. She will be missed.

Jane is my hero. So lucky to have gotten to learn from her.

Jane was a member of my doctoral committee and her comments and observations were always suggestive and accurate, even beyond the academic, she was committed to indigenous causes. She was a brilliant intellectual, sharp, insightful and with a witty sense of humor. Te vamos a extrañar Jane.

My PhD Advisor at the University of Arizona. Jane Hill, I will never forget when the CNPq delayed the scholarship and you said that you did not want to see Kaina wearing tight shoes and when you advanced the registration with your research funds so that I would qualify ... Go in Peace Jane inspire the angels as you inspired your students. We will miss you. I hope that wherever you are you can eat queijadinha (Brazilian coconut dessert).

My PhD Advisor at the University of Arizona. Jane Hill, I will never forget when the CNPq delayed the scholarship and you said that you did not want to see Kaina wearing tight shoes and when you advanced the registration with your research funds so that I would qualify ... Go in Peace Jane inspire the angels as you inspired your students. We will miss you. I hope that wherever you are you can eat queijadinha (Brazilian coconut dessert).

She will be missed enormously, but her work leaves an indelible impact on linguistic anthropology, Nahua studies, critical race theory, and many other fields.

Jane loved Die Hard, a young Mel Gibson, and science fiction. She liberally peppered her brilliant lectures with obscenities. Her lecture notes comprised of about five-words scrawled on a scrap of paper. Monday mornings were regular updates about the new puppy. Jane read 750-words per minute. Her office had piles everywhere. The arrival of "Pronouns and People" brought an enthusiastic cheer. We talked about raising our children…And how we get through it. She wrote on one of my first papers: "It’s page 10 and you’re just getting to the point. Give me a break."

Waiting outside for the results of my oral comps, I could hear Jane say to the rest of the committee, “It was no stellar performance.” When I walked in she smiled and said, “Congratulations!” Our email exchange after the defeat of a local Arizona Republican candidate included her happy and ironic, "Hasta la vista, baby." During retirement, in between parsing Serrano language sentences, her volunteer work entailed transporting the less fortunate elderly. Jane unabashedly shared with classes my email complaints about how hard assigned readings were.

I am heartbroken. From Joni Mitchell, A Case of You I remember that time that you told me, you said "Love is touching souls" Surely you touched mine 'cause Part of you pours out of me In these lines from time to time

Jane was instrumental in my having a career. Her constant kindness and support, in addition to her seminal shaping of linguistic anthropology, cannot be forgotten. She changed the world, literally, with her work and character.

When she was invited to a workshop in Japan, she spoke on how our former Prime Minister Koizumi was described in the New York Times and analyzed them with her critical eyes. The paper is now cherished in many Japanese classrooms. It teaches us the extent of contributions language studies can make for the better world.

Jane Hill's contributions to linguistic anthropology, and in particular the study of language and race, are indispensable to my own teaching and research. I am also grateful for having had an opportunity to see her as a teacher and a scholar, providing me with a role model of what anthropology could be.

My teaching and research have been forever shaped by Jane Hill's work, in language endangerment and revitalization, in language and political economy, and in White racist language. I deeply regret not having known her as well as others she shaped, but I want to express the depth of loss for those of us who felt her impact at a distance and were, nevertheless, transformed. Our discipline, and our world, have been enriched beyond any capacity to measure by her work and influence. She will be remembered.

It has been difficult to know what to write to do justice to Jane's life and contributions. But as a loved one recently reminded me, it can be better to be present than to be perfect. So I add my voice to the fine ones here to register this loss and pay tribute to Jane as scholar and teacher. She was very good at being present for her students, and I benefited from her attention and interest, which she gave generously, always with wit, directness, and acceptance. Now that I have the chance to bring her work to my own students, I enjoy seeing these gifts extended and paradigms continuing to shift. Conversations with Jane meant you never did see the world quite the same. How fortunate we are to have had her among us.

Jane was my sister-in-law and an exceptional women! Wife to Ken and loving Mother and sister. Jane will be remembered and missed❤️❤️❤️ Hugs to the men in her life❤️

Jane was a diva and I was lucky to have her as a teacher so many years ago at the Summer Linguistics Institute. Witnessing her tremendous intellect was among the high points of my academic life. Now her work is always front and center in my linguistic anthropology classes and as I write this my students are working on an assignment about white public space. She was irreplaceable and her contributions to the field were enormous. A tremendous person who will never be forgotten.

Jane was the best example of an engaged and caring professor, a scholar who inserts humanitarianism and social activism into exceptional research, and she was absolutely the most critical influence in how I approach my own scholarship and teaching on racism, cognition, and language. When my students discuss her work on White Racism and the language of racism in my classes they are often deeply impressed by her distinct approach to addressing racism. Her image is what enters my mind when I think of "good anthropology." I was fortunate to have even known her and exceptionally fortunate to have had her as my advisor, mentor and friend.