Waqaa, wiinga Quluqaaqaugua, the artist and educator behind Sew Yup’ik.

I’m a proud Yup’ik woman from Bethel, Alaska, now living on the Kenai Peninsula. Sew Yup’ik was born from a deep desire to reconnect with our ancestral ways and to help others do the same.

My grandmothers are my greatest inspiration — their strength, creativity, and resilience live in everything I do. While they didn’t raise me, I carry them with me everywhere I go. They showed me that clothing is more than just something we wear — it's how we tell stories, honor our people, and pass knowledge down through generations.

For the past 10 years, I’ve traveled across Alaska teaching qaspeq sewing, nasqurrun (headdress) making, and sealskin bag workshops. These traditional arts are powerful tools for cultural healing, resistance, and remembrance. Every stitch is an act of reconnection — not just to fabric, but to identity, to land, and to each other.

Through Sew Yup’ik, I also share plant medicine teachings, host community workshops, and advocate for the protection of Native knowledge and ways of being. Whether it’s through my coloring book, a workshop, or a conversation — my work is grounded in love for my people and the generations before and after me.

Quyana for being here.

— Nikki Corbett, Sew Yup’ik