An upinnaq Christmas

Inuk musician Susan Aglukark sings of the joy of Christmas

The Sergeants Mess Hall at Base31 was filled with the joyful sound of Christmas music on Saturday night as multi- Juno award winner Susan Aglukark and her band performed on the stage there. It was an evening of music and storytelling, with Ms. Aglukark singing and speaking in both English and Inuktitut. She opened the evening with the song Winter’s Dream, saying that perhaps while the Inuk don’t love the cold, they do love the winter. “Winter chose us, we are winter’s dream,” she said. She said that her career has been a 30-year journey of discovery, and that she was fortunate enough to have parents and grandparents who had a traditional Inuk upbringing, and knew the ways of the land. One of her songs was based on her father’s recollection of his first hunt as a boy. Ms. Aglukark is the child of a preacher, and she was raised within the spiritual tradition of the Christian church. Some of her favourite memories were of Sunday school, although the story of Christ’s birth in a manger was puzzling, as she did not know what a cow or a sheep looked like. One of the songs she sang in Inuktitut was O Come Emmanuel from a book of hymns that her father had translated into Inuk syllabic. The evening had a mix of secular music as well. Ms. Aglukark sang her breakout song O Siem, which was inspired by a conversation with two Coast Salish gentlemen, and the song Caledonia calling in reference to her maternal grandfather who came to Canada from Scotland and served with the RCMP. Prior to singing her final song of the night, Ms. Aglukark had a little question and answer session. It turned out that some in the audience knew members of her family, in particular her father, David, who was instrumental in the negotiations that led to the recognition of Nunavut by the federal government. Ms. Aglukark sang an a cappella verse of Amazing Grace in Inuktitut before her final song, Dreaming of Home, which she performed at the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, and which she said represents a step towards healing and sharing in the wider context.

Ms. Aglukark said she became a singer and songwriter more by happenstance than anything else. She had no formal music training, and came to work for the federal government in Ottawa after finishing high school, providing Inuit history lessons. A poem that she wrote during this time became part of a larger project that turned into a music video, ending up on MuchMusic.

She continued writing Inuktitut songs for CBC Radio, and eventually released her debut album, This Child, in 1995, including the hit single O Siem. That song remains special to Ms. Aglukark. “I didn’t fully appreciate the power of a hit song in an artist’s career, but everything about that song was very magical, from the gentlemen from Coast Salish who shared the language of ‘We’re all equal, we’re all the same’, then taking it to the studio and writing the song and making the video—everything about that song was one magical piece,” she said. The song also changed how she viewed her art and heritage. “I’m Inuk, I know my heritage, I grew up in it. What changed was how I utilized the platform of celebrity and understood its potential to spread messages of healing and learning how to use that in my work.”

Based on her own experience of how art and music helped her overcome intergenerational trauma, Ms. Aglukark started what would become the Arctic Rose Foundation (arcticrose.org). This promotes healing through expressive arts and is a program aimed at youth in Grades Five through 12. The program uses Indigenous artists as role models and mentors, and provides a safe space as an emotional outlet. “We have a roster of artists—painters, dancers, choreographers, musicians, writers— who are sent to partner communities to share their art, their expression and their stories. They are there to be an example of the power of art as a basic mental health tool. Music and art have allowed me to discover a self I never imagined, and the healing power of that is what I am sharing through this program.” There are currently 11 partner communities, and two more will be added in January. Ms. Aglukark was awarded the Juno Humanitarian Award in 2022 for this work, and she brought 11 of the youth involved in Arctic Rose with her to the award ceremony. “Opportunities like this are so important for them. It sheds light on why the work by us for us is so important. We have to be leading in this type of work, because we know what we’re working with, we know the potential there. This award wasn’t for me; it was for the work that was being done in the Arctic Rose Foundation by these youth.”

The youth in the north have been hard hit by the pandemic years, and Ms. Aglukark was concerned about addressing the mental health crisis and getting these youth back into a learning environment. “We lost a couple of years, and we felt we had to get our Messy Book program back in operation. Our contribution is small compared to what teachers in schools are doing—they’ve got a bigger job than we do—but where we are able to do our job we are successfully doing it and we’re getting students in a program, participating consistently and getting back into a routine.” Ms. Aglukark’s essential piece of advice is for students to stay in school. “There’s no future without an education, whatever it is you want to pursue. Follow your dream, but get a university or postsecondary education.”

The word “upinnaq” means a sense of awe or wonder, and Ms. Aglukark sees Christmas as a time when all people can embrace that. “Christmas is so beautiful, where we all together are celebrating a day. Honour that day, that moment of peace that we are all contributing to,” she said. “There’s something powerful about that.”