Shina Novalinga (Inuktitut syllabics: ᓯ̵ᓇ ᓄᕙᓕᓐᒐ, born 1998) is an Inuk social media personality, singer, and activist.
Her love of throat singing came from her mother and wanted to express her culture to those unfamiliar with it, which is how she started to create videos on social media.
[5] Novalinga gained fame in March 2020 after she began posting viral videos to TikTok under the handle @shinanova which feature aspects of her Inuit culture.
[7] Inuit throat singing is a cultural practice that became increasingly rare after Christian missionaries outlawed the songs as "Satanic" in the early 20th century.
Almost like a tournament style, the person that won the round would face a new challenger and this would all keep happening until the group of women wanted to stop for the day.
She celebrates clothing handmade with local furs and animal skins by her mother Caroline, including atigik (parka), earrings, paaluk (mittens), nasaks (hats), and kamiks (boots).
[10] In 2021, Novalinga modeled for a Sephora ad campaign featuring all-indigenous cast and crew in celebration of Canada's National Indigenous History Month.
She frequently adds "indigenous twists"[14] to trends on TikTok as a way of sharing her culture, and has collaborated with Cree creators including hoop dancer James Jones and model Michelle Chubb.
[15] Novalinga has also created videos[16] drawing attention to the oppressive history of assimilationist residential schools and to missing and murdered indigenous women.