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Marika Sila

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Marika Sila (born March 18, 1992)[1][2] is an Inuvialuk actress, content creator, and social activist. Born in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, her family moved to Canmore, Alberta when she was five years old.[3][4][5] Olympic cross-country skiier Jesse Cockney is her older brother.[3][6]

Acting

Sila focuses on roles which she feels portray Indigenous people in a positive way, saying that her acting career serves to "build a platform so I can speak about important Indigenous rights issues and climate issues."[7] Her first major acting role was in a 2019 episode of The Twilight Zone, "A Traveler," where she portrayed an Inuk police officer.[7][8][9] Sila next appeared as a police officer in four episodes of Canadian police procedural series Tribal in 2020.[7] Her lead performance as an Inuk paramedic in Canadian horror film Ditched (2022) was well-received, with one reviewer calling her "reason enough to stick with the story."[10]

Other ventures

Sila's TikTok has over 323,000 followers as of July 2021.[2] She began posting on TikTok in April 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada.[11] Her content is a mixture of education about Inuit culture and social issues; social activism relating to missing and murdered Indigenous women, the Canadian Indian residential school system, and the bodies of children buried at the schools; and stunt performances, including hoop dancing, fire spinning, and weapons handling.[4][12][13]

In 2021, Sila launched RedPath Radio, a podcast aimed at preserving and sharing Indigenous cultural knowledge and stories.[14] She is also the owner of RedPath Talent, an entertainment and talent management agency focused on Indigenous performers.[7][15]

In 2022, she announced that she was producing and directing a documentary about the reaction of Inuit elders and community leaders to the bodies discovered at former residential schools.[5] The documentary will be titled What’s Next? On Canada’s RedPath to Reconciliation.[5]

Sila has also appeared as a model. In 2020, she was a quarterfinalist in the Maxim Cover Girl contest.[6] In 2022, she was a model for the third iteration of Project Atigi, a capsule collection created by Inuk designer Victoria Kakuktinniq for winterwear brand Canada Goose.[16][17]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes Ref
2016 Lucifer Barfing Girl Episode "The Would-Be Prince of Darkness" [8]
2019 The Twilight Zone Sergeant Yuka Mongoyak Episode "A Traveler" [8]
2020 Tribal Justine Trueblood 4 episodes [7]
2021 The Secret History of: The Wild West Young Blackfoot Woman Episode "Louder than Words" [18]
2021 Hudson & Rex Veena Kalvak Episode "Fanning the Flames" [19]
2021 Ditched Melina [10]
2022 Finality of Dusk Ishkode Post-production [7]

References

  1. ^ Marika Sila [@marikasila] (March 18, 2021). "Bday tings 🐒🥳" – via Instagram.
  2. ^ a b Wong, Madison (July 22, 2021). "Indigenous youth are using TikTok to educate and preserve their culture — and gaining hundreds of thousands of". The Toronto Star. ISSN 0319-0781. Archived from the original on February 6, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Cardin-Goyer, Camille (January 28, 2022). "How These Indigenous Women Are Reclaiming Their Culture". Elle Canada. Archived from the original on March 17, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Indigenous TikTok Star Marika Sila on Why We Should Cancel Canada Day". Complex. Archived from the original on February 6, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c Butterfield, Ethan (March 3, 2022). "Yellowknife-born actress creating residential schools documentary". Northern News Services. Archived from the original on March 4, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  6. ^ a b Small, Jordan (July 8, 2020). "Beyond Local: Inuit performer aims to become first Indigenous woman on Maxim cover". LakelandToday.ca. Archived from the original on April 13, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Volmers, Eric (January 20, 2022). "Canmore actress and influencer Marika Sila sees starring role in horror film as a path to higher purpose". Calgary Herald. Archived from the original on February 1, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  8. ^ a b c "Inuvialuit woman lead actress in new episode of The Twilight Zone". CBC News. April 19, 2019. Archived from the original on February 26, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  9. ^ Davenport, Samantha (April 17, 2019). "Inuit actress plays lead role in 'Twilight Zone' episode set in Alaska". Anchorage Daily News. Archived from the original on December 15, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  10. ^ a b Knight, Chris (January 14, 2022). "Film review: Ditched has a whole lot of horror going on". National Post. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  11. ^ "Find Out What Makes TikTok Star Marika Sila Tick". VITA Daily. October 22, 2020. Archived from the original on October 9, 2021. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  12. ^ Macyshon, Jill (September 5, 2020). "Indigenous TikTok creators use platform to 'bridge the gap' between cultures". CTV News. Archived from the original on February 6, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  13. ^ Taylor-Singh, Heather (September 30, 2021). "10 Indigenous Content Creators You Should Be Following". Elle Canada. Archived from the original on October 3, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  14. ^ Small, Jordan. "RedPath Radio podcast to inspire unity among all races, genders and identities". Lakeland Today. Archived from the original on May 16, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  15. ^ Taylor, Brooke (June 22, 2021). "'Unapologetically Indigenous': How TikTok provides a community for Indigenous creators to advocate, educate and entertain". CTV News. Archived from the original on February 6, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  16. ^ Cardin-Goyer, Camille (February 2022). "Reclaiming Their Culture". Elle Canada. p. 70. Archived from the original on April 5, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  17. ^ "Project Atigi: Meet the Inuit designer Victoria Kakuktinniq". Elle Canada. Archived from the original on March 14, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  18. ^ "The Secret History of the Wild West Ep 101" (PDF). Aboriginal Peoples Television Network. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 13, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  19. ^ "Marika Sila". IMDb. Archived from the original on February 16, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
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