Resilient Inuk
#37,095 Most Popular
About
Canadian TikToker, Inuk artist, author, entrepreneur, and Indigenous rights advocate known for her educational videos about Inuit and Ojibwe culture, Indigenous history, traditional art, and activism for Missing and Murdered Indigenous People which has helped her amass over 170,000 TikTok followers and over 100,000 Instagram followers.
Before fame
She worked for the Canadian federal government for eight years and served as a co-chair of its Truth and Reconciliation Working Group. She discovered TikTok through her sons during the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020. She began creating red dress awareness artwork from beads and sealskin in 2021.
Trivia
She was selected for the TikTok Accelerator for Indigenous Creators in 2021. She was named one of TikTok's nine Indigenous Visionary Voices in 2024. She published the memoir Becoming Resilient Inuk in May 2025.
Family life
Her real name is Vanessa Lee Brousseau. Her mother Holly Kowtook was an artist and longtime Indigenous community leader. Her sister Pamela Holopainen went missing in December 2003 which has inspired much of her advocacy and red dress artwork. Her two sons introduced her to TikTok. Her husband Derek has traveled with her and has helped lead the Rolling Resilience initiative.
Associated with
She has credited celinaspookyboo with inspiring her first advocacy video.
