It was my first year of full-time artistry, and I had spent many hours designing acrylic and polymer clay earrings that represented my culture. I had developed a style of bright fashion accessories, jewellery and clothing that featured Inuit motifs and symbols. Focussing all my energy on my creativity, I quickly grew my own following and made so many connections by following amazing, talented bead artists, graphic illustrators, painters and other types of artists from all over Inuit Nunangat online. I was looking to connect to these artists in a meaningful way and to show my online community how many other Inuit artists there are to support. That’s when I realized that I could both connect with and support these artists by publicly collaborating with them.
Ulliaq Creations x The Littlest Inuksuk earrings (2022) © THE ARTISTS
One of my first collaborations was with Ulliaq Kowmuk of Ulliaq Creations. Following a series of messages over social media, we worked together on a project that reflected our shared values. I turned one of her iconic graphic designs into a pair of laser-cut earrings. Initially I was nervous to ask, but excited to work with an artist I really admired.
At the time, I don’t think I realized how powerful collaboration was and how passionately I would end up feeling on this topic. It opened my eyes to the impact collaboration has on me and my work as well as the impact that working together has had on Inuit culture as a whole. Over time my feelings about collaboration became less about the work and more about its importance as an Inuit value.
You see, collaboration is not just something humans benefit from one time. It has lasting impacts that shape our identities and cultures. Individually we may be strong, but together we are stronger. In Inuktut, we have a word that refers to collaboration: piliriqatigiinniq. It means working together for a common cause. This word is not just a phrase used in passing but is a core value for Inuit, a recognized principle of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit.
Among Inuit artists, this value of collaboration is a practical strategy for success: it’s a form of cultural preservation, an activism that promotes community care and results in mutually beneficial economic growth, skill sharing and an innovative way of expression which challenges the scarcity ideologies that are prominent in the western world. During my earring release with Ulliaq, we both shared the profits and took time to work together on something both our audiences wanted. While developing our ideas we were able to foster a friendship and a mutual appreciation, benefitting both economically and socially.
Roxanne Nochasak x The Littlest Inuksuk ornaments (2023) © THE ARTISTS
As a tool for cultural preservation, collaboration safeguards the many essential and pivotal skills that helped Inuit survive the extreme winters of the North. I think back to when I first learned to make sealskin mitts as a part of a youth group activity. The teacher, Cindy Pottle-Allen, gave us patterns to use, helped with different techniques like how to cut the seal skin and taught different stitches. Throughout the process we learned both how to make mitts and how to teach others who want to learn. There are so many benefits to this form of partnership: the teacher is passing on important traditions to ensure their survival and honouring their ancestors by appreciating what has come before, while the student enhances their skills and together, they foster a sense of empowerment.
Community care is another benefit of this kind of collaboration. Artists can get isolated doing work independently, so working together can be a positive outlet for connection. When you invite someone to express something with you, you open the door to be heard, and you also open the door for them to be heard. This is a form of nurturing, appreciation, admiration and support. Getting to learn what inspired another artist’s work and getting to experience and work with them to create something has been a treasured part of collaboration for me.
Kautuq Simonee x The Littlest Inuksuk earrings (2024) © THE ARTISTS
I think back to my collaboration with Kautuq Simonee and all the exchanges we had about colour and sizes and the best ways to showcase our work together. The result was beautiful pairs of beaded fringe earrings where her skillful beadwork dangled from an acrylic piece with a kakiniit pattern etched on it.
Doing art in collaboration is also a powerful action that holds space for diverse and underrepresented voices. It’s a form of activism, a kind of resistance against the Western mindset where scarcity and individualism are capitalized on. We are taught to reach the top of corporate ladders or to be the biggest name. By working together, we are instead prioritizing community over competition.
Anna Lambe and Zorga Qaunuq both sport Tegan Voisey’s earrings in North of North (2025) COURTESY CBC
Watching the trailer for North of North (2025), I could see this in action, as actress Anna Lambe and others wore Inuit-made items from pualok to earrings to atigik. I think it’s extremely brave to challenge the notion that there is not enough room for us all. It tells people that when we work together, we are stronger, smarter and more effective. When one of us succeeds, it opens doors for us. There is room for us all here. We all benefit from North of North: those of us who were represented through our work, those who were cast, the producers, creators, Inuit set design and so forth.
Not only did those who had a part in it benefit, but the many Inuit creators on display in North of North opened up our world to a larger audience, revealing another benefit to collaboration: from a marketing standpoint, it can be a practical way to grow your business. Collaboration opens the door to a broader audience, helping to grow your own following and helping your collaborator grow theirs. One of the reasons I collaborate with other Inuit graphic designers or artists is because we both have customer bases who are looking for similar things. This makes it mutually beneficial for growth and enhances the experience of those who buy. If you sew a lot of Inuit designs like amautik or atigik, then collaborating with a fabric designer who also designs Inuit motifs like Inuit tattoo or ulu patterns would also be mutually beneficial. Martha Kyak and Brador Fabrics have made a powerful collaboration using these practical principles.
Britt’Nee Kivliqtaruq Brower x The Littlest Inuksuk earrings (2021) © THE ARTISTS
And collaboration isn’t just a strategic way to share audiences, but to share resources too. This could be time, labour, equipment, tools, materials, transportation, education or even monetary resources. When you are working together, you may be able to afford an advertising budget or access materials that you don’t have on your own.
I once collaborated with Britt’Nee Kivliqtaruq Brower, an Iñupiaq artist who made fur pom-pom earrings. I didn’t know how to make them, but I did know how to caribou tuft, so we were able to make a creation together that had both tufting and fox fur pom-poms, combining resources to do more together than we could apart.
Gayle Uyagaqi Kabloona x The Littlest Inuksuk earrings (2024) © THE ARTISTS
When Inuit work together, we are creating something tangible but also building places of belonging. Modern-day collaborations between artists, hunters and community members mirror our collective history of working together to build shelter, gain resources and celebrate our culture. It allows our voices to be heard stronger and louder.
When we collaborate, we don’t just create art or products; we create relationships, understanding and a stronger foundation for the future. This is the power of piliriqatigiinniq—working together for a common cause. It is this that ensures our survival, our creativity and our shared humanity.