Simutuk Orland (OD) Hansen is a jewellery artist and sculptor originally from Akłarvik, Inuvialuit Settlement Region, NT, and currently based in Inuuvik, Inuvialuit Settlement Region, NT.
OD became interested in art as a child—drawing, sketching, and sculpting wood—but it wasn’t until he moved south to Alberta for a job opportunity in 1991 that he started sculpting stone. “I bought some tools and some soapstone and I started,”[1] he says. Primarily self-taught, OD started working with Brazilian steatite, creating sculptures of animals, hunting scenes, and dancers. OD later started working with harder stones, like marble and alabaster, 10 years into his practice because he wanted his pieces to be more durable. “One of the downfalls [of steatite] is you really can’t handle it. If you have a callus on your hand, it’ll scratch it…I want people to handle them without the fear of scratching it.” OD has been inspired by several other Inuit artists, including William Gruben, the Nasogaluak brothers, and the Taylor brothers. “He could carve polar bears like nobody else. I really enjoyed his work,” OD says of Gruben.
In 2018, OD expanded his practice to jewellery making. “Nobody was buying big items, like carvings, so my daughter Stephanie said, ‘You should try making Indigenous jewellery!’” he says. Since then, jewellery making has become his primary practice. He creates earrings, pendants, and rings out of natural materials like bone, antler, horn, baleen and ivory, which he tries to purchase locally. “I try to use as much traditional material as possible,” he says. His pieces often include Inuvialuit symbols like uluit, antlers, harpoons, and whale tails.
OD has participated as a vendor in the Great Northern Arts Festival in Inuuvik, as well as other arts markets in Canada. “I enjoy, probably as much or more than selling, talking to people, talking to other artists…you’re always going to learn something,” says OD.
In 2025, OD started constructing a workshop in his front yard that he plans to use as his studio, where he can start sculpting again. “I’ve missed carving stone,” he says. Since retiring from his day job in 2025, OD has been able to focus more on his artistic practice. “I’m going to dedicate myself to my art, and I’m excited I’m going to have the opportunity to do it full time,” he says. He plans to start sculpting again once his studio is complete and expand his practice to painting. “In my mind, I think I can do it because I’ve always sketched and drew pictures,” he says. “Now I guess it’s learning how to put the paint on and mix the right colours.”