“I just had these big dreams, and I still do. I have these huge dreams, and I still have these obstacles that are in my way,” Maika Harper shares. Despite the obstacles she faced, she’s making a name for herself in so many different ways. She is a mixed Inuk and Caucasian actor and artist. Born and raised in Iqaluit, she moved South to attend the University of Windsor before settling in Toronto. She writes children’s books, something she loves to do as a single mother. She has been on TV shows and has a new one coming up.  

When Harper lived in Iqaluit, there was no drama class until she left, but the artist energy kept her in high school. Being around people who shared her interests in university was something she loved. She took part in a nationwide search for the lead in Mohawk Girls and ultimately landed it. She had a lot of fun and enjoyed herself but had to make a hard choice of following her acting dreams or finishing her university. She chose the show and was happy she did because she always knew she wanted to act, she just didn’t know how.

“I didn't think it was a real job, to be fair. I just knew I was good at that one thing, and I had a passion for it. I really love theater. I love the way that storytelling is so personal when you're in front of an audience,” Harper reflects. She’s been back to doing theatre at Stratford and enjoyed it, hoping to do more.  

When it comes to choosing roles, Harper is selective. “I've really been focused on what roles I do take and what roles I say no to, because I don't want to be seen as just another mixed Inuk actor. I want to be taken as just an actor, and so it's a big process, and it's exciting to make sure that I'm proud of my Indigeneity but it's not the only thing that I bring to the table,” she explains.

Thinking about her path to becoming an actor, what Harper wants to share with interested Indigenous youth is that the hardest part for her was deciding to leave her home community because the decision was scary and being away from home was hard. Reaching out and finding community was important and she suggests making use of resources down South to learn about and get support with living away from home, especially if you’re from a smaller community. She recommends connecting with Tungasuvvingat Inuit as they have offices in a number of cities.

The other thing Harper wants youth to know is that there can be acting opportunities up in the North as well and it’s not always necessary to leave to pursue your dreams. Her upcoming role in a show called North of North, which will be on APTN, CBC and Netflix, was filmed back home and created employment opportunities in Nunavut.

“I don't want to always say that leaving is so imperative, because going back is also just as imperative,” she reflects.

As far as obstacles she faced, Harper has had to deal with a lot of rejection as an actor, a lot more than in any other line of work. Moving South, she missed home and felt like a fish out of water.  “I feel like being mixed Indigenous, sometimes you have this feeling of never being enough, and so just really owning that and knowing that you know you can always go home, you can always go back to your community,” she shares.

‍

‍

The Inuit Toronto Centre has been a helpful resource for her, a place to bead, spend time with elders and share country food. Harper talks about the time spent there “just being Inuk, laughing really hard from your belly. All of a sudden your down south accent leaves, all of a sudden, it kind of feels like home again. It's those moments that I'm really drawn to that bring me back to what I'm doing and why I'm doing it.” She thinks of it as her community away from home, something that’s important as she’s raising her kids and learning alongside them.

If Harper could share a message with her younger self it would be to keep playing. To manage her mental health, she loves all kinds of therapy but especially Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. She also finds beading and going for walks to pick plants to be therapeutic. She tries to find balance, drinking lots of water, getting exercise, even just going for a walk. Reaching out to a doctor if needed, spending time with pets, and doing the little things to find balance is what she suggests. Mostly she recommends getting outside and going for a walk. “It's almost like treating yourself like a little flower, like a little puppy. You need to take your puppy for a walk. It's really self care. Sometimes it can feel selfish, but it's so important,” she explains.

When it comes to inspiration, Harper gets hers from stories. She and her kids love to read stories, taking as many teachings as possible from their ancestors. “Those stories are so important to keep going and to keep passing them down, which is why I love writing these children's books, because some of these stories are really just awesome for little Inuit to read and to learn and know about,” she reflects.

Her first children’s book was written before the pandemic started and it was an Inuk myth about how the walrus and caribou came to be. It’s called The Walrus and The Caribou, published by Inhabit Media. Harper wanted to share a story she heard as a child and that’s how the book came to be.

Her next book, The First Peoples, was inspired by a story from Igloolik, where her family is from, and it’s about how Inuit were born. Harper’s very excited about its beautiful illustrations. “I like doing children's books because I like history. My dad is a historian, and I love learning about history,” she confides. Her second title is not yet released but is coming soon.  

With huge dreams, and obstacles in her way, Maika Harper is finding her path on stage, on the screen, as a children’s book author and a mom. Connecting with Inuit community far from where she’s from, she keeps her cultural practices going for her family and her own heart. Sharing stories in a variety of mediums, she brings Inuit culture to the world and her childhood dreams to life.

Thank you to Alison Tedford for writing this article!