I was born into the Haida Double Fin Killer Whale Crest and Raven Clan Killer Whale Eyes is inspired by the story of how my family s Double Fin Killer Whale crest came to be I changed some things out of respect for other Double Fins but the book and art still carry on our culture s ancient and mythical style of storytelling An important note Haida elders from our village translated the words of the song in Killer Whale Eyes into the Alaskan Haida dialect a dying language Soon after translating the song my uncle Miijuu passed in March 2011 at the age of 100 and my auntie Viola passed on Dec 2011 at age 85 It s always sad when one of the pure language speakers passes on That is why I have this drive to continue to write songs and learn the language Killer Whale Eyes poured out of me during a time of healing and transformation in my life I created a tune to the song that I now perform at book readings and cultural performances I honor my elders in this way I hope you enjoy my book as much as I enjoyed creating it Sondra Simone Segundo