Susan Aglukark
Encyclopedia
Susan Aglukark, OC
(Inuktitut syllabics
: ᓲᓴᓐ ᐊᒡᓘᒃᑲᖅ suusan agluukkaq), (born 27 January 1967) is an Inuk
musician whose blend of Inuit
folk music
traditions with country
and pop
songwriting has made her a major recording star in Canada
. Her most successful single is "O Siem
", which reached #1 on the Canadian country and adult contemporary charts in 1995. Overall, she has released seven studio albums and has won two Juno Award
s.
, 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.
, 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.
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.
She sometimes deals with painful subjects in her songs. "Kathy" is about her niece who committed 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 #3-14 ("Valentine's Day Massacre"), as well as her song "One Turn Deserves Another" in Episode #3-15 ("Crime And Punishment").
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
.
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
(Inuktitut syllabics
Inuktitut syllabics
Inuktitut syllabics is a writing system used by the Inuit in Nunavut and in Nunavik, Quebec...
: ᓲᓴᓐ ᐊᒡᓘᒃᑲᖅ suusan agluukkaq), (born 27 January 1967) is an Inuk
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
musician whose blend of Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
traditions with country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
and pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
songwriting has made her a major recording star in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Her most successful single is "O Siem
O Siem
"O Siem" is a song written by Susan Aglukark and Chad Irschick. It was recorded by Aglukark on her 1995 album This Child, and was released that year as the album's first single...
", which reached #1 on the Canadian country and adult contemporary charts in 1995. Overall, she has released seven studio albums and has won two Juno Award
Juno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
s.
Early life
Aglukark was born in ChurchillChurchill, Manitoba
Churchill is a town on the shore of Hudson Bay in Manitoba, Canada. It is most famous for the many polar bears that move toward the shore from inland in the autumn, leading to the nickname "Polar Bear Capital of the World" that has helped its growing tourism industry.-History:A variety of nomadic...
, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
and raised in Arviat, Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...
(now in Nunavut
Nunavut
Nunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993...
). After graduating high school, she worked in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
as a linguist
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
with the Department of Indian & Northern Affairs
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
The Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development is the department of the government of Canada with responsibility for policies relating to Aboriginal peoples...
, and then returned to the Northwest Territories to work as an executive assistant with the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada
Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
The Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami is a nonprofit organization in Canada that represents over 50,400 Inuit. It was founded in 1971 by Tagak Curley as 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
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
, who included her in a compilation of Arctic performers. In 1992, she released an independent album, Arctic Rose
Arctic Rose
Arctic Rose is the 1992 debut album of Canadian singer-songwriter Susan Aglukark. Initially released independently with very little distribution outside the Northwest Territories, the album was subsequently rereleased across Canada in 1995 following Aglukark's commercial breakthrough with This...
. The following year, she signed to a major record label, releasing an album of Christmas music that year.
Breakthrough
This ChildThis Child
This Child is the second album by Susan Aglukark, released in 1995. The album was Aglukark's commercial breakthrough in Canada, spawning chart hits with "O Siem" and "Hina Na Ho ", and making Aglukark the first Inuk performer ever to have a Top 40 hit.-Track listing:# "This Child" - 6:26#...
, released in 1995, became her breakthrough album. The first single from that album, "O Siem
O Siem
"O Siem" is a song written by Susan Aglukark and Chad Irschick. It was recorded by Aglukark on her 1995 album This Child, and was released that year as the album's first single...
", went to number one on the Canadian adult contemporary and country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
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.
She sometimes deals with painful subjects in her songs. "Kathy" is about her niece who committed suicide, and "Still Running" is about the trauma of sexual abuse. Aglukark has also recorded a version of "Amazing Grace
Amazing Grace
"Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn with words written by the English poet and clergyman John Newton , published in 1779. With a message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of the sins people commit and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God,...
" in Inuktitut
Inuktitut
Inuktitut or Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, Eastern Canadian Inuit language is the name of some of the Inuit languages spoken in Canada...
.
Her song "Never Be the Same" was featured on Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek is an American teen drama television series which debuted on January 20, 1998, on The WB Television Network and was produced by Sony Pictures Television. The show is set in the fictional seaside town of Capeside, Massachusetts, and in Boston, Massachusetts, during the later seasons...
in Episode #3-14 ("Valentine's Day Massacre"), as well as her song "One Turn Deserves Another" in Episode #3-15 ("Crime And Punishment").
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
Doctor of Fine Arts
Doctor of Fine Arts is doctoral degree in fine arts, typically given as an honorary degree . The degree is typically conferred to honor the recipient who has made a contribution to society in the arts...
from the University of Lethbridge
University of Lethbridge
The University of Lethbridge is a publicly-funded comprehensive academic and research university, founded in the liberal education tradition, located in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, with two other urban campuses in Calgary and Edmonton. The main building sits among the coulees on the west side of...
. She was named an officer of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
in 2005, and in the same year received an honorary LL.D. degree from the University of Alberta
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
. In the summer of 2006, she performed nightly in the evening grandstand show at the Calgary Stampede
Calgary Stampede
The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, exhibition and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", attracts over one million visitors per year and features one of the world's largest rodeos, a parade, midway,...
.
She currently resides in Oakville
Oakville, Ontario
Oakville is a town in Halton Region, on Lake Ontario in Southern Ontario, Canada, and is part of the Greater Toronto Area. As of the 2006 census the population was 165,613.-History:In 1793, Dundas Street was surveyed for a military road...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
.
Awards and recognition
- 1995: winner, Juno AwardsJuno Awards of 1995The Juno Awards of 1995, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 26 March 1995 in Hamilton, Ontario at a ceremony in the Copps Coliseum...
for Best New Solo Artist and Best Music of Aboriginal Canada Recording, Arctic Rose - 1996: nominee, Juno AwardsJuno Awards of 1996The Juno Awards of 1996, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 10 March 1996 in Hamilton, Ontario at a ceremony in the Copps Coliseum...
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") - 2001: nominee, Juno AwardJuno Awards of 2001The Juno Awards of 2001 were held in Hamilton, Ontario Canada during the weekend of 3-4 March 2001.The primary ceremonies were hosted by Rick Mercer at Copps Coliseum on 4 March 2001 and broadcast on CBC Television...
for Best Music of Aboriginal Canada Recording, Unsung Heroes - 2004: winner, Juno AwardJuno Awards of 2004The Juno Awards of 2004 were presented on April 4, 2004 at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and were hosted by Alanis Morissette.Singer-songwriters Nelly Furtado, Sarah McLachlan, and Nickelback led the nominations with five nominations each...
for Aboriginal Recording, Big Feeling - 2004: appointed Officer of the Order of CanadaOrder of CanadaThe Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
- 2007: nominee, Juno AwardJuno Awards of 2007The Juno Awards of 2007 were hosted in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada on the weekend ending 1 April 2007. These ceremonies honoured music industry achievements in Canada during most of 2006...
for Aboriginal Recording of the Year, Blood Red Earth - 2008: appointed as Distinguished Scholar in Residence at the University of AlbertaUniversity of AlbertaThe University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
Albums
| Year | Album | Chart Positions | CRIA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN Country | CAN | |||
| 1990 | Dreams for You | |||
| 1992 | Arctic Rose Arctic Rose Arctic Rose is the 1992 debut album of Canadian singer-songwriter Susan Aglukark. Initially released independently with very little distribution outside the Northwest Territories, the album was subsequently rereleased across Canada in 1995 following Aglukark's commercial breakthrough with This... |
|||
| 1993 | Christmas | |||
| 1995 | This Child This Child This Child is the second album by Susan Aglukark, released in 1995. The album was Aglukark's commercial breakthrough in Canada, spawning chart hits with "O Siem" and "Hina Na Ho ", and making Aglukark the first Inuk performer ever to have a Top 40 hit.-Track listing:# "This Child" - 6:26#... |
1 | 25 | 3× Platinum |
| 1999 | Unsung Heroes | |||
| 2003 | Big Feeling | |||
| 2006 | Blood Red Earth | |||
| 2011 | White Sahara" | TBR: September 27 | ||
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN Country | CAN AC | CAN | |||
| 1990 | "Searching" | — | — | — | Dreams for You |
| 1993 | "Little Toy Trains" | — | — | — | Christmas |
| 1994 | "Song of the Land" | 31 | 4 | 55 | Arctic Rose |
| "Still Running" | — | 17 | — | ||
| 1995 | "O Siem O Siem "O Siem" is a song written by Susan Aglukark and Chad Irschick. It was recorded by Aglukark on her 1995 album This Child, and was released that year as the album's first single... " |
1 | 1 | 3 | This Child |
| "Hina Na Ho (Celebration)" | 19 | 3 | 30 | ||
| "Breakin' Down" | — | 10 | 32 | ||
| 1996 | "Shamaya" | 38 | — | 71 | |
| "Suffer in Silence" | — | — | — | ||
| 1999 | "One Turn Deserves Another" | — | 19 | — | Unsung Heroes |
| 2000 | "Turn of the Century" | — | 55 | — | |
| 2004 | "Whaler's Lullaby" | — | — | — | Big Feeling |
| 2006 | "I Will Return" | — | — | — | Blood Red Earth |