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", 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.
Biography
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. The following year, she signed to a major record label, releasing an album of Christmas music that year. 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", 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, 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), Single of the Year ("O Siem"), Best Music of Aboriginal Canada Recording (This Child), Best Video ("O Siem")
- 2004: appointed Officer of the Order of Canada
- 2007: nominee, Juno Award for Aboriginal Recording of the Year, Blood Red Earth
- 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
Discography
Albums
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2" style="width:15em;"| Title
! rowspan="2" style="width:18em;"| Album details
! colspan="2"| Peak chart<br />positions
! rowspan="2"| Certifications<br /><small>(sales threshold)</small>
|-
! style="width:4em;font-size:90%;"|CAN Country
! style="width:4em;font-size:90%;"|CAN
|-
! scope="row"| Dreams for You
|
- Release date: 1990
- Label: Self-released
| —
| —
|
|-
! scope="row"| Arctic Rose
|
- Release date: 1992
- Label: EMI Canada
| —
| —
|
|-
! scope="row"| Christmas
|
- Release date: December 1993
- Label: EMI Canada
| —
| —
|
|-
! scope="row"| This Child
|
- Release date: 24 January 1995
- Label: EMI Canada
| 1
| 25
| align="left"|
- MC: 3× Platinum
|-
! scope="row"| Unsung Heroes
|
- Release date: 9 November 1999
- Label: EMI Canada
| —
| —
|
|-
! scope="row"| Big Feeling
|
- Release date: 22 July 2003
- Label: EMI Canada
| —
| —
|
|-
! scope="row"| Blood Red Earth
|
- Release date: 15 August 2006
- Label: Arbor Records
| —
| —
|
|-
! scope="row"| White Sahara
|
- Release date: 4 October 2011
- Label: EMI
| —
| —
|
|-
! scope="row"| Dreaming of Home
|
- Release date: 5 November 2013
- Label: E1 Music
| —
| —
|
|-
! scope="row"| The Crossing
|
- Release date: 29 April 2022
- Label: E1 Music
| –
| –
|
|-
| colspan="5" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart
|}
Singles
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style=text-align:center;
! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Year
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:15em;" | Title
! scope="col" colspan="3" | Peak chart positions
! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Album
|-
! style="width:4em;font-size:90%;"|CAN Country
! style="width:4em;font-size:90%;"|CAN AC
! style="width:4em;font-size:90%;"|CAN
|-
| 1990
! scope="row"| "Searching"
| —
| —
| —
| align="left"| Dreams for You
|-
| 1993
! scope="row"| "Little Toy Trains"
| —
| —
| —
| align="left"| Christmas
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1994
! scope="row"| "Song of the Land"
| 31
| 4
| 55
| align="left" rowspan="2"| Arctic Rose
|-
! scope="row"| "Still Running"
| —
| 17
| —
|-
| rowspan="3"| 1995
! scope="row"| "O Siem"
| 1
| 1
| 3
| align="left" rowspan="5"| This Child
|-
! scope="row"| "Hina Na Ho (Celebration)"
| 19
| 3
| 30
|-
! scope="row"| "Breakin' Down"
| —
| 10
| 32
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1996
! scope="row"| "Shamaya"
| 38
| —
| 71
|-
! scope="row"| "Suffer in Silence"
| —
| —
| —
|-
| 1999
! scope="row"| "One Turn Deserves Another"
| —
| 19
| —
| align="left" rowspan="2"| Unsung Heroes
|-
| 2000
! scope="row"| "Turn of the Century"
| —
| 55
| —
|-
| 2004
! scope="row"| "Whaler's Lullaby"
| —
| —
| —
| align="left"| Big Feeling
|-
| 2006
! scope="row"| "I Will Return"
| —
| —
| —
| align="left"| Blood Red Earth
|-
| colspan="6" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart
|}
Books
Aglukark is the author of a series of historically based picture books, published by Inhabit Media Inc, which draws on the experiences of her grandmother's childhood to examine the unique perspective of living in the Arctic at a time when traditional Inuit values began to mix with outside influences and objects. Each volume in the series examines the feelings of anticipation, excitement, loss, and resilience experienced by Inuit as their world began to change through the introduction of outside influences. Seen through the eyes of one little girl as she navigates life in her camp with her family, this series gives young readers a window into a unique time in Arctic history.
- Una Huna?: What Is This? (2018)
- Una Huna?: Ukpik Learns to Sew (2022)
See also
- Music of Canada
- Aboriginal music of Canada
- Notable Aboriginal people of Canada
- List of Canadian musicians
References
Citations
External links
- Susan Aglukark Official site
- Canadian Pop Music Encyclopedia's entry