Susan Aglukark

Biography

Susan Aglukark (Inuktitut syllabics: ᓲᓴᓐ ᐊᒡᓘᒃᑲᖅ suusan agluukkaq; born 27 January 1967) is a Canadian singer whose blend of Inuit folk music traditions with country and pop songwriting has made her a major recording star in Canada. Her most successful song/single is "O Siem×O Siem1995 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1O Siem4:002O Siem4:25", which reached No. 1 on the Canadian country and adult contemporary charts in 1995. Overall, she has released seven studio albums and has won three Juno Awards.

Early life

Aglukark was born in Churchill, Manitoba, and raised in Arviat, Northwest Territories (now in Nunavut). She endured sexual abuse as a child and has been vocal about this issue in some of the first nations in Northern Ontario. After graduating from 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.

Career

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×Arctic Rose1992 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Arctic Rose4:082Song of the Land4:023Still Running4:074Wanderin' Child3:265Learn to Love Yourself3:076Searching3:357Anger and Tears3:508Rollin' On2:519Mama's Prayers2:5610Amazing Grace4:38. The following year, she signed to a major record label, releasing an album of Christmas music that year.
Aglukark has also acted as spokesperson for several non-profit groups working with aboriginal and Inuit youth, notably through her writing workshops for Attawapiskat First Nation youth and her involvement in Northern Canada's food crisis. However, she 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.

This Child

This Child, released in 1995, became her breakthrough album. The first single from that album, "O Siem×O Siem1995 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1O Siem4:002O Siem4:25", went to number one on the Canadian adult contemporary and country 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.

Unsung Heroes

In 1999, 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 2003, she released Big Feeling.
She sometimes deals with painful subjects in her songs. "Kathy" is about her niece who died by suicide, and "Still Running" is about the trauma of sexual abuse. Aglukark has also recorded a version of "Amazing Grace" in Inuktitut.
Her song "Never Be the Same" was featured on Dawson's Creek in Episode No. 3–14 ("Valentine's Day Massacre"), as well as her song "One Turn Deserves Another" in Episode No. 3–15 ("Crime And Punishment").
Aglukark's second holiday album, Dreaming of Home×Dreaming Of Home5 November 2013 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1/12This Must Be the Place4:052/12Old Toy Trains3:083/12Silent Night5:054/12Love Came Down at Christmas3:025/12Huron Carole5:046/12Caledonia4:227/12Little Road to Bethlehem2:448/12Breath of Heaven (Mary's Song)5:229/12Do You Hear What I Hear2:5610/12O Come, O Come Emmanuel4:5811/12Mothers of the Disappeared4:0112/12I'm Dreaming of Home3:44, was released in 2013.
She currently resides in Oakville, Ontario.

Awards and recognition

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.

1994: winner, National Aboriginal Achievement Awards (Indspire Awards) for Performance.
1995: winner, Juno Awards for Best New Solo Artist and Best Music of Aboriginal Canada Recording, Arctic Rose
1996: nominee, Juno Awards for Best Female Vocalist, Best Album (This Child×This Child1995 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1This Child6:262Shamaya4:353Suffer in Silence3:584O Siem4:275Dreams for You3:576Hina Na Ho (Celebration)4:127Kathy I4:328Pond Inlet3:579Slippin’ Through the Cracks3:2210Breakin’ Down3:4711Casualties of War5:41), Single of the Year ("O Siem×O Siem1995 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1O Siem4:002O Siem4:25"), Best Music of Aboriginal Canada Recording (This Child), Best Video ("O Siem")
2001: nominee, Juno Award for Best Music of Aboriginal Canada Recording, Unsung Heroes
2004: winner, Juno Award for Aboriginal Recording, Big Feeling
2004: appointed Officer of the Order of Canada
2007: nominee, Juno Award for Aboriginal Recording of the Year, Blood Red Earth
2008: appointed as Distinguished Scholar in Residence at the University of Alberta
2016: Governor General's Performing Arts Awards - Lifetime Artistic Achievement
The book Aboriginal Carol (2007, Red Deer Press), by David Bouchard, illustrated by Moses Beaver, bilingual (English and Inuktitut), translation and music by Susan Aglukark, was awarded a White Raven by the International Youth Library