Jason Sikoak

A bronze medallion, A Song for Nuliajuk by Jason Sikoak, is embedded in the Hall terrace’s circular seating area. The bronze serves as both a focal point and a gathering space. It is also symbolic of a ceremonial fire—a place for reflection, storytelling, and communal presence. 

The medallion illustrates an Inuit ceremony meant to honour and appease Nuliajuk, also known as Sedna—a figure whose name and story vary across Inuit Nunangat and the Circumpolar North. Like other versions, this one offers a clear moral: when humans behave unjustly toward one another or the natural world, balance is disrupted, and repair becomes necessary. 

In Inuit oral traditions, Nuliajuk’s hair carries the well-being of sea life. When she is angered by human actions, her hair tangles, trapping sea mammals underwater and depriving them of sustenance. To express care and apology—and a commitment to do better—people sing, drum, comb, and braid her hair. 

Sikoak depicts this ceremony in the present tense. While Nuliajuk’s hair is being tended, loose strands remain, indicating that the care and repair process is ongoing and incomplete. 

Positioned within a public seating area, A Song for Nuliajuk encourages contemplation of accountability, interdependence, and the ongoing work of repair.