“I really enjoy incorporating materials that are on the land, from the sea, from the sky, into my artwork,” Haley Alakan White explains. She is an Inuk artist and entrepreneur from Rankin Inlet, Nunavut. The owner of Haley’s Handicrafts, she is a mixed media artist who does beadwork, tufting, sewing, carving and printmaking. White enjoys teaching people virtually and in person about traditional crafting techniques like tufting and sewing.

Her journey began with handsewing, guided by her family and elders. Now her career is rooted in cultural revitalization, community and creative entrepreneurship. White went from small markets in her community to travelling all across the country for festivals and having her work in the Winnipeg Art Gallery and having companies and organizations request art pieces from her.

“I've always been drawn to creating, and the more I learn about traditional practices like beadwork, sewing, tufting, how my ancestors used every part of the animal, nothing went to waste, the more I felt like I was being called to preserve and share these skills and this knowledge to keep the culture and knowledge and traditions going on,” White reflects. Honouring ancestors and empowering youth motivate her. “I really love working with the youth, and I think they definitely are the future and keeping our stories alive,” she beams.

To prepare her to do the work she does, White learned from community based programs, YouTube videos about beadwork, TikToks, reels and other videos, and organically from family members, elders, people in her community and hands on experiences. She likes to try new things even if they aren’t going to look great the first time, celebrating her progress and improvement.

Her advice for students leaving home to pursue their dreams based on her own nomadic lifestyle is, “It's okay to feel nervous, it's okay to feel scared, it's okay to feel excited. You're not leaving your community. You're carrying it with you. My advice is also to say, make space to feel homesick, but also make space to grow. It's okay to feel homesick, scared, nervous, but it's also okay to feel excited about this new journey that one would be taking. Surround yourself with like minded people, build yourself a little family, a little community, wherever you travel to.”

If White could give advice to her younger self it would be, “Don't wait for permission to take up space. You don't need to be perfect to begin something. It's okay to be messy. It's okay to be curious and trust your instincts. Just make sure that when you're taking up space, that you know that your voice matters. You do belong. You're powerful. Just keep going.”

“It's okay to struggle on your journey to healing. Because when you finally get there and you finally find what works for you it feels amazing.”

When it comes to maintaining her mental health, White has a therapist and a psychiatrist she sees regularly. She struggled with her mental health when she was younger and wished she had asked for help earlier. When she’s in a bad mood, she doodles and creates with her art supplies and she journals. Her advice is, “just feel free to be open and talk to people and always and ask for help if you need help.”

To inspire Indigenous youth, White says, “Whatever inspires you, just keep at it… Just find what inspires you. It could be something from the land, it could be people. It could be stories, our language. It could also be just daily kindness from another person that inspires you to be kind as well. I would also like to say, don't give up…. If there's a project that's not working out for me, I will take a deep breath, set it aside and go back to complete it. I do not throw it out. So just keep going. You got this, guys.”

From handsewing to a career rooted in cultural revitalization, community and creative entrepreneurship, Haley Alakan White has built a business inspired by her ancestors’ practices. From small markets close to home to festivals across the country, the reach of her work has expanded to the Winnipeg Art Gallery, companies and organizations, too. Haley’s Handicrafts empowers youth, who she sees as the future, while honouring the past.

Thanks to Alison Tedford Seaweed for authoring this article.