Eyoälha, Life, Lessons & Legacy

We’re looking forward to introducing you to eyoälha . Check out our conversation below.

Eyoälha , so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What are you most proud of building — that nobody sees?
What am I most proud of? Myself. I’m most proud of my dedication to the intentional evolution of myself. This journey has been by far my most complex, challenging, confronting, exciting and liberating art project.

For over 2 decades, I’ve been dedicated to expanding my capacity to experience deeper joy, love, peace and wholeness (regardless of my current circumstances). I’m proud of my tenacity, my unwavering commitment to untangling and healing intergenerational and personal traumas.

Healing can be intense, heavy, painful work, yet, I’ve managed to pull myself through experiences that I thought were going to break me. Instead, I persevere. I heal. I transcend. I create a better path with more ease and joyful experiences than I could previously imagine possible.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Eyoälha (Eee-YO-Lah) Baker is a multidisciplinary creative force on a lifelong journey of learning, creating and self expansion. Her innovative approach to life and inner transformational journey has inspired uplifting empowerment worldwide.

Eyoälha inherited her indigenous cultural perspectives from her father, artist Chief Gigaemi Kukwits (Musgamagw Dzawada’enuxw/Tlingit/Haida and Squamish lineage) and intuitive abilities from her mother.

Eyoälha’s unique perspective has developed over a lifetime of extensive world travel, influenced by diverse cultures from all walks of life. Having resided in Morrocco, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, Canada, and the United States, she brings a community vision centered on honouring uniqueness and the wisdom inherent in diverse cultures.

Every creative art project is approached with playfulness and experimentation. Eyoälha is most celebrated for her Jump for Joy Photo Project, a multi-year community art engagement that spread the energy of joy worldwide. The project was created to uplift and unify humanity by photographing hundreds of individuals expressing themselves through jumping for joy, culminating in the creation of large-scale murals symbolizing the uniqueness of individuals while initiating community connection and unity.

Her Light Realm Photos, incorporated energy healing, breath and somatic movement while capturing ethereal portraits encompassed in sunlight. This project explored light’s impact on the psyche throughout history – culturally, spiritually and Scientifically.

Her TEDx talk, “Jumping for Joy Opened Hearts and Unified Communities,” emphasizes joy’s role in fostering societal togetherness. Her images and articles have been featured in various media outlets internationally, including Where Women Create Business, Huffington Post: Photographer of the Month, and Forbes.com, to name a few. Eyoälha was the inaugural Artist In Residence at the prestigious Palm Springs Cultural Center.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
The people pleasing survival mode part of me that believed in order to be safe and lovable, I needed to dim down, keep quiet, be “nice” and prioritised other peoples needs before my own. I’ve learned that I have conflicting cultural beliefs that do not translate, my indigenous cultures respect generosity and helping each other, but we are forced to live in a colonial /capitalistic system based on greed and extraction, that sets people up for failure. I deeply value kindness and generosity so people pleasing has been by far one of the most difficult programs to release.

When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
I can’t pinpoint exactly when I started transforming traumas into power. It’s been an ongoing process that’s become easier over the past few years. This transformation deepens every time I confront and overcome fears, re-wrire a belief system and dare to be more of myself.

I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What’s a cultural value you protect at all costs?
Nature. I have deep respect, spiritual connection and love for nature. We are not separate from nature. Nature is a sacred and interconnected part of our lives and the spirit world.

Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. What light inside you have you been dimming?
New me:
I’m blooming. Shining brighter than ever before. Thriving exponentially, easily and enjoyably. $eyoalha @eyoalha #eyoalha

Old me:
I haven’t been dimming my light, I hid my light. Cloaked. Masked. Undercover. Too much and not enough, all at the same time.

Contact Info:

• Website: eyoalha.com $eyoalha @eyoalha
• Instagram: @eyoalha @jumpforjoyphotoproject @lightrealmphotos
• Linkedin: Eyoälha Baker
• Twitter: I haven’t used this in years @eyoalha @jumpforjoyphoto
• Facebook: I paused my account
• Yelp: Don’t use it
• Youtube: @eyoalha

Image Credits
All photos and collages are by me, Eyoälha Baker @eyoalha except for the black and white portrait of me (Eyoälha), that’s by Tira Howard.