Maligiaq Johnsen Padilla () is a

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

kayak ] A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word ''kayak'' originates from the Inuktitut word '' qajaq'' (). In British English, the kayak is also considered to be ...

er known for his skill with the

sea kayak A sea kayak or touring kayak is a kayak used for the sport of Watercraft paddling, paddling on open waters of lakes, bays, and oceans. Sea kayaks are seaworthy small boats with a covered deck and the ability to incorporate a spray deck. They t ...

. In 1994, at the age of 12, he won every event in his age group at the National Kayaking Championship.

History

Born in

to an American father and a Greenlandic Inuk mother, Juliane Padilla (née Johnsen), he was raised from age 4 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 Sisimiut Museum, the Inuit Gallery of Vancouver the

Smithsonian Museum The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, education and research centers, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded on August 10, 1846, it operates as a trus ...

in Washington DC and the Kativik Cultural Center in Nome. In 2010 Padilla moved to Alaska where he is working to revive traditional kayaking culture. He and wife Elizabeth Saagulik Hensley, an Iñupiaq attorney, have two children. Padilla is the only person in history to win four Greenland National Kayaking Championships, winning his first title at 16.

External links

SeaKayaker Magazine

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References

1982 births Living people 20th-century Danish sportsmen 20th-century Greenlandic people 20th-century Inuit people 21st-century Danish sportsmen 21st-century Greenlandic people 21st-century Inuit people Greenlandic Inuit people Danish male canoeists Greenlandic sportsmen {{greenland-sport-stub