Dinah Andersen was born in Okak Bay, Labrador, on May 10, 1956. That summer, her family was relocated to Makkovik, a community north of Goose Bay. This resettlement program was created by the Newfoundland Government to centralize the Inuit. She remembers how the relocation led to the Inuit children attending school taught by English speaking teachers, and how they were discouraged from speaking in their mother tongue, Inuktitut. Today she suffers from the loss of her language.
In 1970, Andersen was forced to continue high school in Northwest River, Labrador because back then there were no high schools along the north coast of Labrador. She completed Grade 9 but quit the next year. She returned in 1982 and got her Grade 11 equivalency. She went on to take the Teacher Education Program with Memorial University of Newfoundland. She became interested in furthering her education. She wanted to take fine arts but that program was not available in Newfoundland at that time. She applied to the Bachelor of Arts Program at the University of Ottawa in 1984 and graduated in 1989. She felt this course was not adequate so she applied to the Bachelor of Fine Arts program and received her diploma in 1994.
"During summer holidays and breaks, I would carve small soapstone sculptures, using a variety of hand tools and found that I really enjoyed this medium. It wasn't until I began working at the Nain Carving workshop with Gilbert Hay and John Terriak that I became dedicated to sculpting.
Labrador Inuit have been practising art in the form of miniature sculptures for thousands of years. Today, my favourite medium is soapstone sculpting. For me, it is just a continuation of my ancestors' works. I tend to use myths and legends as sources for my images and in doing so, I feel more connected to my past."
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