About the Author

Nellie (Andersen) Winters is an Elder from Okak Bay living in Makkovik, Nunatsiavut (Labrador). She was raised in Okak Bay, on the north coast of Labrador. Her family was relocated to Makkovik in 1956 when services to the area were cut off by the provincial government. Nellie Winters is a respected artist whose work is commissioned and exhibited by galleries, museums, and private collections both in Canada and internationally. Her artistic work includes sealskin boots, caribou tufting, embroidery, coats, caps, dresses, beading, jewellery, carvings, grasswork, wall hangings, dolls, purses, paintings, and even a sealskin lamp. In 1976, Nellie Winters was personally invited to demonstrate her artistic work at the Montreal Olympics. For many years, Nellie Winters has contributed to artistic life in Nunatsiavut as a skills instructor, as an original board member of the Makkovik Craft Council, and as an active member of the Makkovik Ladies’ Sewing Circle. In addition to her artistic contributions, Nellie Winters is widely respected as an Elder, knowledge holder, interpreter, author, and educator.

About the Editor

Erica Oberndorfer was born in Hudson, Quebec, to Carol (McKechnie) and Dieter Oberndorfer, and has one younger brother, Derek. She studied at McMaster University (Hons. BA & Sc), Saint Mary’s University (MSc), Carleton University (PhD), and completed a post-doctoral fellowship with the Labrador Institute. She is a cultural botanist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Goose Bay. Since 2012, Erica has been working with plant mentors in Makkovik, focusing on cultural plant knowledge and the plant ecology of cultural places. Erica lives in Goose Bay with her husband, Paul MacDonald.