Manitoba Inuit Association and Tukuuludaa Bering Sea-Based Design and Education Center to lead International UnangaX̂ - Inuit Indigenous Knowledge Exchange

The Manitoba Inuit Association will host the Tukuuludaa team in Winnipeg this month

Tukuuludaa Bering Sea-Based Design and Education Center’s team will be traveling to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, this month, October 2026, to carry out a month-long knowledge exchange program at the Manitoba Inuit Association [MIA] centered on Arctic Indigenous peoples’ parka-making traditions. The team will work with Manitoba Inuit Association’s parka-making seamstresses and teaching staff to make Inuit-inspired parkas utilizing traditionally tanned furs gathered on the Pribilof Islands. 

Tukuuludaa President and organizational culture bearer Garrett Pletnikoff prepares and softens locally harvested northern fur seal hides, which will be crafted into a men’s parka during the exchange.

“The way that Canadian Inuit have been able to retain traditional handicraft knowledge is a beacon of inspiration for all in our Inuit-Yupik-Unangax̂ family. They have developed world-class methods for teaching and revitalizing traditional crafting practices in even the most remote of communities,” says Tukuuludaa president Garrett Iĝayux̂ Pletnikoff. “It is something we hope to learn from and take back to our region. Tukuuludaa envisions a version of our Bering Sea communities in the not-too-distant future where we can make and wear our own parkas on our islands, as our ancestors did, but this time using a combination of traditional and modern materials as well as sewing machines to aid in the process. With this knowledge exchange, we are daring ourselves to use our clothing as community tools of cultural self-expression and socio-environmental sustainability.” 

Parka-making is a tradition that has been lost for over one hundred years on the Pribilof Islands of Alaska, where Tukuuludaa is based, but a tradition Tukuuludaa is working to bring back. At the completion of this exchange, Tukuuludaa will seek funding opportunities to bring parka-making courses to all of the islands in the Bering Sea region and propagate this knowledge further. The styles of parka the Tukuuludaa team will focus on in this exchange were selected by St. Paul Island community members through Facebook group polling. 

This opportunity is made possible through funding by the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island, Central Bering Sea Fishermen’s Association, and Ulakaia Center.