Susan Aglukark

An Inuk, Aglukark was born in Churchill, Manitoba and raised in Arviat, Northwest Territories (now in Nunavut). After graduating high school, she worked in Ottawa, Ontario as a linguist with the Department of Indian & Northern Affairs, and then returned to the Northwest Territories to work as an executive assistant with the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada. While working with the Inuit Tapirisat, she began to perform as a singer, and quickly became a popular performer in Inuit communities. She soon attracted the attention of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, who included her in a compilation of Arctic performers. In 1992, she released an independent album, Arctic Rose. The following year, she signed to a major record label, releasing an album of Christmas music that year. This Child, released in 1995, became her breakthrough album. The first single from that album, "O Siem", went to number one on the Canadian pop charts that year, making Aglukark the first Inuk performer to have a Top 40 hit. "Hina Na Ho (Celebration)" and "Breakin' Down" became hit singles as well. The album was eventually certified triple platinum (300,000 copies sold) in Canada. In 2000, Aglukark released Unsung Heroes, which spawned another pop hit with "One Turn Deserves Another". This album also included "Turn of the Century", a song about the creation of Nunavut. In 2004, she released "Big Feeling". Her latest is entitled "Blood Red Earth" and was released independently in 2006. She is not afraid to deal with painful subjects in her songs. "Kathy" is about a friend who committed suicide and "Still Running" is about the trauma of sexual abuse. Aglukark has also recorded a version of "Amazing Grace" in Inuktitut. Aglukark has also acted as spokesperson for several non-profit groups working with aboriginal and Inuit youth, and has said that while she is proud to be a role model for aboriginal people in Canada, she ultimately sees herself as an artist with a universal message of self-respect and strength to which she hopes that people of all cultural backgrounds can relate. In 2004, Aglukark was awarded an honorary DFA from the University of Lethbridge. She was named an officer of the Order of Canada in 2005, and in the same year received an honorary LL.D. degree from the University of Alberta. In the summer of 2006, she performed nightly in the Evening Grandstand Show at the Calgary Stampede. She currently resides in Oakville, Ontario.