Blog
When the Premier Sits in the Chair
Some clients walk through our door quietly. Others carry the weight of a province on their shoulders. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew is the latter — and we had the honour of being part of his story.
As Premier Kinew wrapped up his first full calendar year leading Manitoba, he marked the moment the way many of us do: with ink. He recently had a black-and-white bison etched into his inner right forearm — Sheldon Withawick’s rendition of the Manitoba coat of arms, one of the province’s most iconic official emblems. The Winnipeg Free Press featured the Premier in his office, sleeve rolled up, showing it off with unmistakable pride.
“It’s a way to mark the moment in time. I love this province so much; it took a little boy from the reserve and gave me the life that I have today.”
— Premier Wab Kinew
The Artist Behind the Ink
Sheldon Withawick didn’t arrive at tattooing through a straight line. He grew up in a tough environment, drawn early to the art he saw on skin around him — back in the ’80s, when tattoos were far less common. Skateboarding culture, heavy metal magazines, the raw visual energy of that world — it all pulled at him. He’d draw on himself, on his friends. The fascination never left.
Getting into the industry wasn’t easy. Tattooing was a closed-off world back then, and Sheldon spent years bringing his drawings and early work around to shops, hoping someone would take a chance on him. It didn’t happen right away. But eventually, he reached a turning point — started taking his art, and himself, more seriously. His first official shop experience came around 2014. That’s eleven years ago now, and he hasn’t looked back.
Today, Sheldon specializes in soft black and gray work that has evolved into deeper, more layered black work over time — pieces with real weight, texture, and contrast. But what sets his work apart is what lives underneath it.
Sheldon is Ojibwe Anishinaabe, and that identity runs through everything he makes. His pre-drawn designs often carry cultural and spiritual elements — sweetgrass, sage, tobacco, cedar, animal skulls, totems. For him, drawing is almost a healing practice. Meditative. Every line has to feel right. He doesn’t work on an iPad; everything is drawn by hand.
“There’s something powerful about that — the connection between the hand, the medicine, and the page.”
— Sheldon Withawick
Two Indigenous Artists. One Piece of Permanent Art.
Premier Kinew is originally from Onigaming First Nation and made history as Canada’s first provincial premier of First Nations descent. He has carried his identity openly his entire career — as a broadcaster, author, rapper, and now as the leader of this province. The tattoo he chose reflects that same spirit. The Manitoba coat of arms isn’t just a government symbol. For Kinew, it’s a declaration of belonging.
When an Indigenous artist tattoos an Indigenous premier — one who has spent his platform advocating for communities across this province — the work carries more than pigment. It carries lineage, pride, and a kind of quiet cultural continuity that doesn’t need to be explained to be felt.
Sheldon has always said that the heart of a tattoo begins long before the needle touches skin — in the hours of sketching, refining, and sitting with a design until it feels right. With this piece, that intention landed on the arm of the man leading Manitoba into its future.
We couldn’t be more proud.
A Year Worth Marking
2024 was a year of real weight for Premier Kinew and for this province — a gas tax holiday, new healthcare investments, the launch of a $30-million school food program, and the long-awaited landfill search that brought some measure of closure to families who had waited far too long. It ended with the Premier choosing to commemorate the year permanently, on his own body, in our studio on Osborne Village.
Ink doesn’t wash off. Neither does the work of building something that lasts. We think that’s a philosophy both Sheldon and the Premier understand deeply.
We’re grateful to Premier Kinew for trusting Sheldon with his skin, and for wearing that work so visibly and proudly. It means everything to us.
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