Career
Born in the United States to an American father and Greenland Inuit mother, Juliane Padilla (née Johnsen), he was raised from age 3 in Sisimiut. Padilla"s grandfather, Peter Johnsen, taught him much of what he knows. A skilled kayaker in his own right, Johnsen taught Padilla how to kayak, how to build the boats and how to hunt using a harpoon and rifle.
Included in his training were open-ocean skills and traditional kayak building skills.
Kayaks built by Padilla are housed at the Greenland National Museum, the Inuit Gallery of Vancouver and the Smithsonian Museum in Washington District of Columbia. In 2010 Padilla moved to Alaska where he is working to revive traditional kayaking culture.
