 Born
in Churchill Manitoba, 28 years ago, Susan Aglukark leads
two lives: one as a Canadian music artist and a second as
an Inuit from the High Arctic, her past filled with
hardship and abuse. Aglukark left the North and became a
translator in Ottawa, eventually becoming known for her
beautiful singing voice and songwriting ability. Her
personal songs about loss, suicide and abuse have earned
her popularity among both Canadian and Inuit audiences.
Having survived and thrived in southern Canada, Aglukark
has become a positive role model for the Inuit at a
crucial time in their history, only a few years before
they assume responsibility for a new territory nearly a
quarter the size of Canada. Susan Aglukark's story is the
story of modern Inuit, and her survival is the story of
their future.
In 1992 Susan released her first independent recording,
Arctic Rose, which met with tremendous critical acclaim in
the North. She signed a worldwide recording contract in
Canada and released a Christmas album. Susan has
performed twice for Queen Elizabeth, as well as for
Canadian Prime Ministers, Mulroney and Cretien. Susan was
honored with the first Aboriginal Achievement Award in the
Arts & Entertainment field. She has also been
awarded the "Vista Rising Star" award by the
Canadian County Music Association.
Susan is an artist
that bridges two worlds. On her new album This
Child, she
intertwines traditional Inuk chants with contemporary pop
melodies. While Susan's music embraces the time-honored
rituals and values of her Inuit forefathers, she is also
not afraid to face the tough social realities of life in
today's far North. Her clear warm voice touches listeners
with sensitive message-laden songs, sung in English as
well as her native tongue Inuktitut.
This
Child features
11 songs, the majority co-written by Susan. The first
single and video was "O Siem", the title being
an Indian exclamation of joy at seeing friends and family.
Susan explains: "a line in the song 'siem o siyeya',
means all peoples, all cultures and races, all people rich
and poor. The song talks about watching the walls come
tumbling down, and by that, I mean the walls of racism and
prejudice, of hate and anger.
"Hina Na Ho (Celebration)" is a tale of
surviving a winter, written by John Landry (an aboriginal
songwriter from the Western Arctic), Susan and Chad
Irschick. "It presented an amazing visual for
me" says Susan. "In the song, we were trying to
say we survived a winter, another season of our own
personal battles, as well as the battles with, and within
different cultures. It also talks about The Creator,
because aboriginal people have great respect for the
creator of the land".
In the song "Shamaya" Susan documents the
traditions of the hunt, an important part of Arctic life.
"I was home last Christmas, and my great uncle told
the story of Shamaya. Historically, any man in my dad's
family, any man who catches the five biggest sea mammals
(such as polar bear, narwhale and seal) sings Shamaya"
in celebration. Because I am not male, and cannot hunt the
five sea mammals, I cannot sing the song, but I wanted to
tell the story of Shamaya. Shamaya is the thread that
weaves together centuries of storytelling. It is how each
hunter documents the hunt. It is a rite of passage. You
learn to hunt from need, not for pure desire. As good as
you might get as a hunter, you should never get proud or
greedy.
A song that is especially close to Susan's heart is
"Kathy I". The song was written in honor of her
cousin and best friend Kathy, who passed away, and was
co-written with Kelita Haverland. The title track, "This
Child"
deals with the tragedy of suicide. It was written to
accompany the film broadcast of "Trial At Fortitude
Bay", which aired in Canada on CBC-TV in December
1994. "Trial At Fortitude Bay" tells the
powerful story of the southern white legal system
attempting to impose their laws and justice on a Northern
Inuit community.
|
