Nicole Camphaug is a Canadian Inuk fashion and jewellery designer from Nunavut. [1] [2] She is primarily known for creating sealskin-covered shoes and other contemporary Inuit fashion items under the label ENB Artisan, which she runs with her husband. [2] [3] Camphaug uses commercially purchased shoes and covers them with sealskin and ornaments made from traditional animal materials like caribou, muskox, and narwhal. [4] [5] The pelts are sourced from Labrador. [6] She also makes jewellery from bone, tusk, and similar materials. [2]
Camphaug, who is from Rankin Inlet, learned to sew at an early age, mostly producing traditional Inuit clothing items like parkas and hats for family and friends. [1] [4] In 2015, she created her first pair of shoes by attaching scrap sealskin to a pair of her old boots. [1] [3] When she posted photos of the boots to her Facebook page, the positive response encouraged her to make more, which she began to sell. [3] [4] Camphaug has described her work as a means of promoting sealskin products, as well as Inuit culture and fashion. [5] [7] In an interview with Up Here, she stated that she enjoyed making high heels and dress shoes in particular because it provides a way to wear sealskin outside the winter season without being too warm. [8]
A pair of Camphaug's heels are held in the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto. [4] In 2016, a pair of high heels by Camphaug were featured in Floe Edge , an exhibition of Inuit art and design by Quebec art collective Axe Néo-7. [7] In 2019, Camphaug provided accessories for outfits at the Upingaksaaq Fashion Show in Iqaluit, which featured Inuit designers. [9] [10] ENB Artisan was short-listed for the grand prize of the 2021 Pow Wow Pitch, a competition for Indigenous Canadian entrepreneurs. [5]
Thigh-high boots, known also as thigh-length boots or simply thigh boots, are boots that extend above the knees to at least mid-thigh. Other terms for this footwear include over-the-knee boots, a name originally used for 15th century riding boots for men. These are sometimes called pirate boots, especially when cuffed. Over-the-knee boots are sometimes abbreviated to OTK boots. Lengths vary from reaching just over the knee to reaching almost to the crotch.
Mukluks or kamik are soft boots, traditionally made of reindeer (caribou) skin or sealskin, and worn by Indigenous Arctic peoples, including Inuit, Iñupiat, and Yup'ik.
New shoes on budget day is an unusual tradition among Canadian Ministers of Finance. The tradition holds that the Minister of Finance should purchase or wear new shoes when the budget is delivered.
Lucie Idlout is a Canadian Inuk singer-songwriter and actress from Iqaluit, Nunavut. She is the daughter of Leah Idlout-Paulson and granddaughter of Joseph Idlout.
Eva Qamaniq Aariaka is a Canadian Inuk politician, who was elected in the 2008 territorial election to represent the electoral district of Iqaluit East in the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut. She was subsequently chosen as the second premier of Nunavut, under the territory's consensus government system, on November 14, 2008. Aariak was the fifth woman to serve as a premier in Canada.
Qailertetang is an Inuit goddess who cares for animals, fishers, and hunters and who controls the weather. She dwells with her companion Sedna at the bottom of the sea in the company of seals, whales, and other sea creatures. Qailertetang is depicted as a "large woman of very heavy limbs". Before hunts, she, along with Sedna, are served by shamans on behalf of the rest of the tribe in rituals designed to ensure success in said hunts as coastal Inuit groups' diets mostly consist of sea animals.
Pat Angnakak is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut in the 2013 election and reelected in 2017. She represented the electoral district of Iqaluit-Niaqunnguu until 2021; she resigned her seat in the legislature in August 2021 in order to run as a Liberal Party of Canada candidate in the 2021 Canadian federal election, but was defeated by Lori Idlout of the New Democratic Party.
Aaju Peter is an Inuk lawyer, activist and sealskin clothes designer. In 2012, she received the Order of Canada.
Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory or Laakkuluk, is a Kalaaleq performance artist, spoken word poet, actor, storyteller and writer based in Iqaluit, Nunavut. She is known for performing uaajeerneq, a Greenlandic mask dance that involves storytelling and centers three elements: fear, humour and sexuality. Bathory describes uaajeerneq as both a political and cultural act and an idiosyncratic art form.
Aluki Kotierk is an Inuk politician. She was born in Iqaluit, Nunavut, but grew up in Igloolik.
Indigenous fashion of the Americas is the design and creation of high-fashion clothing and fashion accessories by Indigenous peoples of the Americas.
Anna Lambe is a Canadian Inuk actress from Iqaluit, Nunavut. She is most noted for her debut role as Spring in the 2018 film The Grizzlies, for which she received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the 7th Canadian Screen Awards in 2019.
Mumilaaq Qaqqaq is a Canadian activist and former politician who served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Nunavut in the House of Commons from 2019 to 2021.
Colleen Aasiva Nakashuk, better known by her stage name Aasiva, is a Canadian Inuk singer-songwriter and educator. Her style of indie folk music features the ukulele, Inuktitut lyrics, and Inuit throat singing.
Archaeological evidence indicates that the use of Inuit clothing extends far back into prehistory, with significant evidence to indicate that its basic structure has changed little since. The clothing systems of all Arctic peoples are similar, and evidence in the form of tools and carved figurines indicates that these systems may have originated in Siberia as early as 22,000 BCE, and in northern Canada and Greenland as early as 2500 BCE. Pieces of garments found at archaeological sites, dated to approximately 1000 to 1600 CE, are very similar to garments from the 17th to mid-20th centuries, which confirms consistency in the construction of Inuit clothing over centuries.
Victoria Kakuktinniq is a Canadian Inuk fashion designer from Nunavut. Under her label Victoria's Arctic Fashion, Kakuktinniq hand-stitches clothing such as parkas, kamiit, and other accessories. Her work has been described as a major influence in contemporary Inuit fashion. Kakuktinniq has described her work as a means of preserving Inuit traditional skills of sewing and clothing production, which has historically been a significant aspect of Inuit culture. In particular, she advocates for handmade fur garments as sustainable fashion.
Lori Idlout is a Canadian politician who has served as member of parliament for the riding of Nunavut in the House of Commons of Canada since 2021. She is a member of the New Democratic Party.
Killaq Enuaraq-Strauss is a Canadian activist of Inuit and Jewish heritage.
Floe Edge: Contemporary Art and Collaborations from Nunavut was an exhibition of contemporary Inuit art and fashion staged by Quebec artist collective Axe Néo-7 and curated by Kathleen Nicholls of the Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association. The exhibition featured contemporary works from 18 artists in multiple media, including videos, drawings, and fashion. The organizers intentionally eschewed more traditional presentations of Inuit art such as soapstone carvings. Floe Edge originally appeared at the Galerie Axe Néo-7 in Gatineau, Quebec, from January to March 2016. The exhibition travelled to Canada House in London in September 2016. It was presented at the Urban Shaman Gallery in Winnipeg, Manitoba, from September to October 2017.