“I don't let their resistance stop me from work that I want to do,” Tapisa Kilabuk says. She is a strong advocate for Inuit, originally from Baffin Island, and she moved away from Iqaluit when she was nine years old to rural Nova Scotia. Her mom was Inuk and her dad moved up from Nova Scotia to work for the Hudson’s Bay Company. She later relocated to Calgary, Alberta where she attended Mount Royal University. Initially she attended the Social Work program, learning about the impacts of colonization, assimilation and their impacts on Indigenous people.

That’s where she learned her mom attended a day school, about her father moving to thrive on Inuit land and about Reconciliation. She went on to do reconciliation work with nonprofits, educating about the impacts of colonization on Indigenous people but was left with more questions than answers. She went back to school studying International Indigenous Studies. As a fourth year student, she is doing Inuit-specific research that she is finding resonates more deeply and is working with the Connected North program facilitating affirming identity with young Inuit while she raises her own children.

Motivated by past, present and future Inuit, her own children, nieces and nephews, she is following this new career path. “As an Inuk woman, I have responsibilities to ensure that they also survive and thrive in their communities and in the spaces that they're going to be in,” she explains. “I'm really thinking about my future generations living a good life, a life where they don't have to fight for their representation, their recognition, their personhood,” she continues.

With all that she’s learned so far, she’s gathered papers, videos and other media and turned it into a six-hour facilitation that details the Inuit experience. She hopes to continue her education, get her PhD and become a professor. Kilabuk also hopes to expand the number of facilitators who offer what she has created so other Inuit women can share what she has learned with others and so she can help them learn how to build facilitation businesses. This opportunity puts the sharing of their narrative back in their control instead of in the hands on non-Inuit people, something that is important to her. She has a ten-year goal in mind which she hopes will come to pass.

Her advice for young people considering leaving home to pursue opportunities is, “I think you need to have a strong sense of identity.” Kilabuk has found that remembering who she is and the value of what she has to offer has been important and grounding. Her family and peers created an atmosphere where she has been able to thrive and know who she is and she’s had a lot of gratitude for that throughout her journey as part of her healing.

When it comes to obstacles, Kilabuk has had to advocate for herself a lot over the years. She has found herself in spaces where she has been belittled or her feelings or experiences diminished and has had to advocate for the existence of alternate perspectives, opportunities and beliefs. When faced with refusals or delays, Kilabuk has had to explain why she feels a decision was unfair or wrong. She has become a strong advocate for herself and her community, which is sometimes inconvenient for others.

If she could share a message with her younger self it would be, “I am good enough. Being Inuk is good enough. You are, who you are, and just try to embrace it, try to love it, just love yourself in that way, and be proud of who you are as an Inuk… and don't let anyone take that away from you.”

To take care of her mental health and access the best version of herself, Kilabuk participates in therapy. She recites affirmations and writes them down. Balancing the work she does as a student and a parent with writing, singing, dancing and yoga, she nourishes her own heart. She also likes to try new things and be a multi-disciplinary artist with a broad range of interests. “Just try to do something that makes you happy,” she beams.

For inspiration, Kilabuk looks to her ancestors, something she reminds herself to do with a sticky note on her laptop. She feels empowered by her community members and loved ones. She feels responsible to live up to her namesakes also. Joy is something that she pursues, believing that her ancestors would want her to be joyful and grateful as well. She also wants her kids to see that you can do anything you put your mind to and do it well and happily, hoping to reverse the narrative that it isn’t possible to enjoy what you do or that things need to be a chore. Kilabuk wants to show up out of love for what she does.

She doesn’t let resistance stop her from doing the work she wants to do; Tapisa Kilabuk shows up with joy to do what needs to be done. With a ten-year goal and a heart full of gratitude, she’s a role model for young Inuit. Doing research that matters, sharing the Inuit experience with wisdom, authenticity and love for her community, she’s reclaiming the narrative with grace.

Thanks to Alison Tedford Seaweed for authoring this article.