Iqaluit is the capital of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. It is the territory's largest community and its only city. It was known as Frobisher Bay from 1942 to 1987, after the large bay on the coast on which the city is situated. The northernmost city in Canada, its traditional Inuktitut name was restored in 1987.
Traditional Inuit music, the music of the Inuit, Yupik, and Iñupiat, has been based on drums used in dance music as far back as can be known, and a vocal style called katajjaq has become of interest in Canada and abroad.
Tanya Tagaq, also credited as Tagaq, is a Canadian Inuk throat singer, songwriter, novelist, actor, and visual artist from Cambridge Bay (Iqaluktuuttiaq), Nunavut, Canada, on the south coast of Victoria Island.
Nunavut is the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, which provided this territory to the Inuit for independent government. The boundaries had been drawn in 1993. The creation of Nunavut resulted in the first major change to Canada's political map in half a century since the province of Newfoundland was admitted in 1949.
Disc numbers, or ujamiit or ujamik in the Inuit language, were used by the Government of Canada in lieu of surnames for Inuit and were similar to dog tags.
Elisapee Sheutiapik is a Canadian politician, who served as mayor of Iqaluit, Nunavut, from 2003 to 2010, and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut in the 2017 general election.
Over the course of centuries, many Indigenous Canadians have played a critical role in shaping the history of Canada. From art and music, to law and government, to sports and war; Indigenous customs and culture have had a strong influences on defining Canadian culture. The Indspire Awards are the annual awards presented by Indspire, formerly the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation. The awards were first established in 1993 in conjunction with the United Nations declaring the 1990s "International Decade of the World's Indigenous peoples". June 21 is Canada's National Aboriginal Day, in recognition of the cultural contributions made by Canada's indigenous population. The day was first celebrated in 1996 following Governor General of Canada Roméo LeBlanc's proclamation.
Great Canadian Song Quest is a Canadian songwriting contest, presented by CBC Music. The competition has been presented in three editions to date, in 2009, 2010 and 2013.
Swagger is the second studio album by Canadian Inuk rock singer Lucie Idlout. It was released on February 19, 2009 by Sun Rev. Records.
Alethea Arnaquq-Baril is an Inuk filmmaker, known for her work on Inuit life and culture. She is the owner of Unikkaat Studios, a production company in Iqaluit, which produces Inuktitut films. She was awarded the Canadian Meritorious Service Cross, in 2017 in recognition of her work as an activist and filmmaker. She currently works part-time at the Qanak Collective, a social project which supports Inuit empowerment initiatives.
The Jerry Cans are a band from Iqaluit, Nunavut who combine traditional Inuit throat singing with folk music and country rock. Their music is largely written in Inuktitut, the indigenous language of the Inuit, with lyrics which "reflect the challenges and beauty of life in the Far North". Their 2016 album, Inuusiq/Life, was released on Aakuluk Music, Nunavut's first record label, which the band's members established in 2016 "to support Inuit and Indigenous musicians".
Kelly Fraser was a Canadian Inuk pop singer and songwriter, whose second album, Sedna, received a Juno Award nomination for Indigenous Music Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2018.
Riit (ᕇᑦ) is the stage name of Rita Claire Mike-Murphy, a Canadian Inuk musician and television personality from Pangnirtung, Nunavut who is most noted as the host of APTN's children's series Anaana's Tent.
Mumilaaq Qaqqaq is a Canadian activist and former politician who served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Nunavut in the House of Commons from 2019 to 2021.
Victoria Kakuktinniq is a Canadian Inuk fashion designer from Nunavut. Under her label Victoria's Arctic Fashion, Kakuktinniq hand-stitches clothing such as parkas, kamiit, and other accessories. Her work has been described as a major influence in contemporary Inuit fashion. Kakuktinniq has described her work as a means of preserving Inuit traditional skills of sewing and clothing production, which has historically been a significant aspect of Inuit culture. In particular, she advocates for handmade fur garments as sustainable fashion.
Lori Idlout is a Canadian politician who has served as member of parliament for the riding of Nunavut in the House of Commons of Canada since 2021. She is a member of the New Democratic Party.
Killaq Enuaraq-Strauss is a Canadian activist of Inuit and Jewish heritage.
Kakiniit are the traditional tattoos of the Inuit of the North American Arctic. The practice is done almost exclusively among women, with women exclusively tattooing other women with the tattoos for various purposes. Men could also receive tattoos but these were often much less extensive than the tattoos a woman would receive. Facial tattoos are individually referred to as tunniit (ᑐᓃᑦ), and would mark an individual's transition to womanhood. The individual tattoos bear unique meaning to Inuit women, with each individual tattoo carrying symbolic meaning. However, in Inuinnaqtun, kakiniq refers to facial tattoos.
Enooyaq Sudlovenick is an Inuk Canadian marine biologist. She was a recipient of the 2021 Weston Family Awards in Northern Research for her research into the health of marine animals of the Arctic.
