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The Traditional Paddlers Gathering A Qajaq USA event of traditional-style paddling techniques, equipment, culture, and history in the midwest region of the USA.

Dubside Reports from Nuuk, GreenlandDubside arrived in Nuuk just in time to attend the funeral of his longtime friend, l...
10/16/2026

Dubside Reports from Nuuk, Greenland

Dubside arrived in Nuuk just in time to attend the funeral of his longtime friend, legendary Greenlandic kayaker Maligiaq Padilla.

He was met at the airport by Maligiaq’s family and friends, who welcomed him warmly despite the somber circumstances. In a deeply meaningful gesture, they asked Dubside to serve as one of the pallbearers and to wear the traditional white Greenlandic anorak.

The request brought back a poignant memory. Many years ago, while preparing for an opening ceremony at a church in Greenland, Maligiaq had suggested that Dubside wear a white anorak like the other men. Maligiaq even offered to buy him one, but Dubside declined.

Now, years later, Dubside will finally wear the white anorak to honor his friend.

Dubside also had the opportunity to say a private farewell to Maligiaq before the funeral, a privilege he was deeply grateful to receive.

Our heartfelt condolences go out to Maligiaq’s family, friends, and the entire Greenlandic kayaking community.

And once again, thank you to everyone who contributed to making it possible for Dubside to be there.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1JMN2CWWfS/
10/15/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1JMN2CWWfS/

𝐄𝐪𝐪𝐚𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐮𝐭 – 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐚𝐪 𝐏𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚 (𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟐–𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔)
Kalaallit qaanniornermut ileqquannik, kulturikkut kingornussassanik ingerlatitseqqittoq nunarsuarmilu Kalaallit kulturianik ilisimasaqarlualersitsisoq.

Qeqqata Kommunia alianaqisumik Maligiaq Padillap toqukkut qimagunneranik tusarlerneqarpoq.

Maligiaq tassavoq inuk Qeqqata Kommunianut, Kalaallit Nunaannut nunarsuarlu tamakkerlugu sunniuteqarluarsimasoq. Inuunermini kalaallit kulturikkut kingornussassaat qaanniorneq qaannamillu atueriaatsimik pingaarutilimmik suliaqarluarsimalluni. Taamaalilluni attatiinnarneqarnissaa, ingerlateqqinneqarnissaa minnerunngitsumillu nunarsuaq tamakkerlugu siammarterluarneqarnissaanut suliamut pingaarutilimmut peqataasimalluni.

Maligiaq qaanniornermut qajartornermullu immikkut ilisimasaqartuuvoq. Qajaq Sisimiunut annertuumik tunniusimavoq, Sisimiunilu qajaqarnermik ingerlatsinerup nukittorsarneqarnissaanut pingaarutilimmik sunniuteqaqataasimalluni. Nunani assigiinngitsorpassuarni angalasarpoq qaanniornermik ilinniartitsisarluni ilisimasanilu kinguaariinnut kulturinillu assigiinngitsuneersunut ingerlateqqittarlugit. Taamaalilluni Kalaallit Nunaata kulturianik nunarsuarmioqatitsinnut ilisimasitsisutut pingaarutilittut inissisimavoq.

Maligiap qajaq angallatituinnaq isiginngilaa. Qajaq aqqutigalugu siuaasatta ilisimasaat, pinngortitamut atassuteqarneq kinaassuserpullu ingerlateqqippai. Sulinermigut ileqqutoqqat ilisimasallu kinguaariinnut nutaanut ingerlateqqinneqarnissaat qulakkeerinneqataaffigaa, taamaalillunilu Kalaallit Nunaanni nunarsuarmilu allanut isumassarsiorfiulluni.

Maligiaq inuugami qiimasoq inussiarnersorlu tupinnanngitsumik sineriatsinni nunarsuarmilu ilisimannitserpassuaqarpoq.
Inuusuttuunnguullunili timersuutini ilungersunartuni assigiinngitsuni peqataasarnermigut timersornikkut annertuumik aamma nunatsinni maligassiuisuusimavoq. Sisimiuni Arctic Circle Racemi, Kujataanilu Greenland Adventure Racemi arlaleriarluni peqataasarsimavoq, Sisimiut Kangerlussuullu aqqutaa aasami ukiumilu arlaleriarujussuarlugu timersuutini assigiinngitsuni misigisaqarfigisimavaa, arlaleriarlunilu nunatsinni qaannamik pissartarnngorniunnermi pissartanngortarsimalluni. Taamaattumik
Maligiap timikkut eqqarsartaatsimigullu tupinnaannartumik nukittunini uteriitsuuninilu ilisarnaatigisimavaa.

Qeqqata Kommunia sinnerlugu Maligiap suliaanut pingaarutilimmut ataqqinninnerput qujamasunnerpullu takutikkusupparput. Qimagunnera kommunitsinnut, Kalaallit Nunaannut aammalu qajaq pillugu suleqatigisimasaanut tamanut annaasaq annertuvoq.

Qitornai, ilaqutai, ikinngutai qanigisaalu tamaasa misiginneqatigingaarpagut nukissamillu annertuumik kissaallugit.

Maligiaq maqaasissavarput, suliaali nunatsinni kulturikkut tunniussai tammajuitsorissavagut.

Maligiaqsip eqqaaneqarnera ataqqinartuuli.

𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐝 – 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐚𝐪 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚 (𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟐–𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔)
En betydningsfuld kulturbærer og ambassadør for den grønlandske kajaktradition

Det er med stor sorg, at Qeqqata Kommunia har modtaget meddelelsen om Maligiaq Johnsen Padillas bortgang.

Med Maligiaqs død har vi mistet et menneske, der har sat betydelige spor i Qeqqata Kommunia, i Grønland og langt ud over landets grænser. Gennem sit liv og virke har han bidraget til at bevare, videreføre og udbrede en vigtig del af vores grønlandske kulturarv – den traditionelle kajak, dens håndværk og kunsten at mestre den.

Maligiaq besad en helt særlig viden og kunnen inden for kajakbygning og kajaksejlads. Han bidrog stort til Qajaq Sisimiut og til at styrke det lokale kajakmiljø. Samtidig rejste han verden rundt, hvor han underviste, byggede kajakker og delte sin viden med mennesker på tværs af generationer og kulturer. På den måde blev han en vigtig ambassadør for Grønland og vores kulturarv i det internationale kajakmiljø.

For Maligiaq var kajakken mere end et fartøj. Den var et levende bindeled mellem vores forfædre, vores natur og vores identitet. Gennem sit arbejde var han med til at sikre, at traditioner og kundskaber blev ført videre til nye generationer og fortsat kunne inspirere mennesker både i Grønland og resten af verden.

Maligiaq var et livsglad og imødekommende menneske, og derfor havde han helt naturligt mange bekendte og venner både hele kysten og hele verden. Allerede fra en ung alder var Maligiaq et stort forbillede inden for fysisk krævende idrætsaktiviteter i Grønland. Han deltog flere gange i Arctic Circle Race i Sisimiut og Greenland Adventure Race i Sydgrønland. Han havde desuden adskillige gange udfordret sig selv gennem forskellige sportsaktiviteter på ruten mellem Sisimiut og Kangerlussuaq, både om sommeren og om vinteren. Han blev også flere gange grønlandsk mester i kajakroning. Maligiaq var således kendetegnet ved en bemærkelsesværdig fysisk og mental styrke samt en enestående viljestyrke og vedholdenhed.

På vegne af Qeqqata Kommunia vil vi udtrykke vores dybeste respekt og taknemmelighed for Maligiaqs store indsats. Hans bortgang er et stort tab for vores kommune, for Grønland og for alle, der har kendt ham og været en del af kajakkens verden.

Vores varmeste tanker og dybeste medfølelse går til hans børn, hans øvrige familie, venner og alle, der stod ham nær.

Maligiaq vil blive savnet, men hans livsværk og hans bidrag til den grønlandske kulturarv vil leve videre.

Æret være Maligiaqs minde.

10/14/2026

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the Go Fund me account to get Dubside to Greenland. I have always said that this group is my Family!

QAJAQ USA is discussing some way to honor the memory of Maligiaq. If you have ideas please let us know.

Today
NEW
Andrew ElizagaOrganizer
We reached our goal! We’re overwhelmed by the generosity and love from the kayaking community. Thank you to everyone who donated to help send Dubside to Maligiaq’s funeral.

Dubside is already on his way to Nuuk and, barring any flight delays, should arrive in time for the funeral on Friday. Your support is helping him honor his friend and carry our community’s love with him. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1HTXvVqUQU/?mibextid=wwXIfr
10/13/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1HTXvVqUQU/?mibextid=wwXIfr

I first met Maligiaq in Taiwan, when I joined a rolling symposium organised by Chungshih of Gearlab.

On a wild island in the Penghu archipelago, he fashioned a spear from a bamboo stick and his pocket knife, and started chasing after a herd of goats. We watched him afar, a shirtless man holding a makeshift spear running down the goats, until one of the goats simply gave up due to exhaustion. We had goat soup that night !

Later as colleagues guiding together in Greenland, he would opened up a whole new world for me. A glimpse into a place of ice and rocks, an Inuit culture connected by a shared heritage stretching from Siberia to Greenland.

Maligiaq grew up in Sisimuit and was taught kayaking and kayak making by his grandfather. He was a kayak champion from a young age. As an adult, He won 10 Greenland national championships. He was highly sought after as a master kayak builder and his kayaks were so beautiful they were displayed in museums.

Maligiaq was the bridge between kayaking past and present. Talking to him about kayaking was like being transported back thousands of years ago when the Inuit still made kayaks out of sealskin and bones. That a kayak was an extension of the human body. That rolling was an essential survival skills - he really could do any rolls in any kayak!

Coming from the tropics, Maligiaq introduced me to arctic paddling and what it was like to live there. He shared with me the beautiful places to paddle. What it was like to deal with ice bergs. Foraging and hunting for food. There was so much to learn from him.

As a co-guide, he was always the emotionally intelligent one, conversing and making friends with a variety of guests and solving countless problems.

We had our misadventures together !

Once, we forgot (he was liable 90%!) the keys to our remote cabins after reaching there with our guests. He had to drive the boat 160km (both ways) to get them!

Another time, he stuffed extra bullets into my PFD as we set out on a hunt. It was so cold that day and he picked up a quantity of Labrador leaves from the tundra to make tea later. He also stuffed that into my PFD pocket. When we had the water boiled to made tea, he stuffed his hand into my PFD and emptied everything inside the boiling water, including the bullets ! We wildly kicked the whole pot away!

When I shared with him crazy ideas, Maligiaq was always the one who encouraged me with“let’s do it!”, making me feel entirely normal.

In Greenlandic, the name Maligiaq means “that of following the waves”. Before we parted a few weeks ago, we devised another crazy idea to go paddling in China next Spring. We even thought of a Chinese name to print on his name card !

马凌海
马 (Mǎ) - common surname in China
凌 (Líng) - ice..or a point that is pressing forward
海 (Hǎi) - sea

Maligiaq was a world-renowned Greenlandic kayaker and master boatbuilder. He had built over 600+ kayaks and some of them are on displays at museums. He was the bridge between ancestral Arctic knowledge and us. He was the greatest figure in the modern revival of traditional Arctic qajaq culture. He dedicated his life to preserving Indigenous watercraft knowledge and transmitting them through classes and workshops throughout Inuit communities in the Arctic.

Anyone with an interest in kayaking or indigenous culture should find out more about Maligiaq.

Maligiaq Padilla (1982 - 2026)

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GLkFwmtJT/?mibextid=wwXIfrTanner was very busy interviewing a lot of folks at TPG for ...
09/23/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GLkFwmtJT/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Tanner was very busy interviewing a lot of folks at TPG for this PBS special. Can’t wait to see how it comes out!

🚣‍♂️ What in the world is Producer Tanner doing?

A recent 218Life assignment led Tanner straight into the water at the Parker Scout Reservation in Nisswa for the annual The Traditional Paddlers Gathering.

This unique camp is one of only two in Minnesota—and just seven in the entire country—dedicated to exploring the rich culture and practices of Greenlandic qajaqing, the oldest form of kayaking in the world!

Tanner spent the week learning and observing alongside expert mentors from across the nation who gathered in Northern Minnesota to share their passion. Mentors Trina and Renée even got Tanner into a traditional qajaq to demonstrate foundational beginner skills, like the "static brace" used in kayak rolling!

Keep an eye out for this fascinating glimpse into local outdoor heritage on an upcoming episode of 218Life! 📺✨

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21930 Paradise Dr
Nisswa, MN
56468

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