Smithsonian National Museum for the American Indian in New York, NY — July 11, 2025

Surrounded by skillfully crafted art of fellow American Indian artists, Elisapie commanded her presence in the midst of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian last Friday night.

It was a performance honoring her indigeneity and celebrating the indigenous communities of North America. Elisapie performed songs from her 2023 album Inuktitut, in which she covered songs originally written in English by white people in her native tongue, Inuktut, as well as French. Originating from Salluit, Nunavik and now based in Tio’tia:ke (Montreal), Elisapie knows just how important it is to take up, and take back, space for being indigenous — especially during this time. “Do not be afraid to be loud in this space.” It was a reclamation of her’s and the audience’s indigeneity by singing and dancing freely.

Elisapie opened with “Uummati Attanarsimat (Heart of Glass)” and by her second song “Taimangalimaaq (Time After Time),” the room swayed under her voice. It was so special to experience Elisapie incorporate Katajjaq (throat singing) in “Californiamut (Going to California)” — a moment that her audience took in to its fullest. She spoke about imagining the native lands she grew up in, imaging herself soaring over the land. The song that followed was one once pierced with grief that slowly became a song of peace, solace, and consolidation where Elisapie ended it by including and connecting with her audience through a guided harmony. It was beautiful to witness the assertion of her Inuit heritage through a diverse audience — both relating to her indigeneity and to her unashamed resolution of identity.

Words & Photography: Tessa Young