Iqaluit-based artist Barbara Akoak, right, stands beside three oxidized copper pendants with her child Percy Akoak, on June 11. The pendants, which Akoak made, are featured in the Qillaniq exhibition of circumpolar art at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. Titled Ancestral Love; Angunatsiuviit?, or “Are you a hunter?”; and F*ck who you want, It’s your body, the works reflect themes of consent, bodily autonomy and Inuit culture. “To be among so much talent — people for whom this is also their full-time job, or what they’re naturally gifted at — I was so emotional and so proud,” Akoak said. (Photo courtesy of Barbara Akoak)
Acting coach Natar Ungalaaq, left, and director Zacharias Kunuk sit in the Astro Theatre in Iqaluit Friday as they await a free screening of Kunuk’s film “Uiksaringitara (The Wrong Husband).” The filmmaker and actors stayed for a question-and-answer session with the audience. The film was named best Canadian feature film at the Toronto International Film Festival this month. (Photo by Daron Letts)
About 60 people gather on the shore of Coronation Gulf in Kugluktuk after Saturday’s walk in memory of Angella Rose Kuliktana, who died in a drunk-driving crash 13 years ago. Some participants carried posters with Kuliktana’s image and played her favourite song, “Safe and Sound,” by Capital Cities. Angella Rose’s mother Christine Kuliktana organized the walk and said she hopes it will help raise awareness about impaired driving. (Photo courtesy of Christine Kuliktana)
Premier P.J. Akeeagok, left, watches as Igloolik musician Terry Uyarak performs “Aniqsaatuinnarit,” which means just breathe in English. Uyarak sang to MLAs and staff Friday at the legislature after Akeeagok awarded him a King Charles III coronation medal. Akeeagok praised Uyarak for his Inuktitut songwriting. (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)
Jackson Pijamini, left, watches as his mother, Emma Pijamini, cuts beluga blubber with an ulu alongside Rose Audlakiak, Nevaeh Newkingnak and her mother Laura Newkingnak. Families enjoyed Arctic char and other country food Wednesday evening at Inuksuk High School in Iqaluit as part of the Embrace Life Council’s 20th anniversary feast. (Photo by Daron Letts)
Rita Pigalak, left, and Wilma Pigalak pick cranberries and blueberries for tea and muffins on a hill just south of Kugluktuk on Sunday. The tundra is so bursting with fall colours that it looks almost like the prairies in the old westerns, Rita said. “The only thing that’s missing is a cowboy on a horse,” she joked. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)
Sgt. Matto Michael, of the 1st Canadian Rangers patrol group, fires a C19 rifle supervised by a member of Land Task Force Nunakput. The training took place on a range during Operation Nanook-Nunakput in Pond Inlet on Tuesday. The domestic security and sovereignty operation involving the Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Canadian Air Force, Canadian Coast Guard and the Canadian Rangers is being conducted from Aug. 29 to Sept. 14. (Photo courtesy of Master Cpl. Antoine Brochu, Canadian Armed Forces Combat Camera)
Kuujjuaq came out to celebrate the grand opening of a new student residence on Tuesday. “This residence is more than just a building — it’s a symbol of possibility. It’s a place where students can live, learn and grow, right here in our region, close to home and close to community,” said Kativik Ilisarniliriniq president Sarah Aloupa at the event. (Photo courtesy of Kativik Ilisarniliriniq)
It’s berry season! Sandi Chan shows off some of her berry-picking bounty from the Plateau area of Iqaluit. (Photo courtesy of Sandi Chan)
Kaneena Netser of Rankin Inlet carries Nunavut’s flag during the closing ceremony for the Canada Summer Games in St. John’s, N.L., on Aug. 24. (Photo courtesy of Eric Bartlett/Canada Summer Games)
Team Nunavut wrestler Gail Kuksuk, centre, from Arviat, announces upcoming matches in Inuktitut on Wednesday at the Canada Summer Games in St. John’s, N.L. In addition to wrestling, Nunavut’s indoor volleyball teams are also competing this week. Pictured with Kuksuk is Nunavut wrestling team manager Paula Cziranka, left, and an unidentified Summer Games volunteer. (Photo courtesy of Penny Rogers/Canada Summer Games)
Team Nunavut indoor volleyball player Khaylle Sarte, facing the camera, gets a hug from Sonja Lonsdale, the team’s assistant chef de mission for Week 2, after arriving in St. John’s, N.L., Sunday to compete at the Canada Summer Games. Indoor volleyball matches begin Tuesday for the men’s and women’s teams, while the wrestling competition opens Wednesday. Last week, Nunavut’s men’s and women’s basketball and beach volleyball teams competed at the Games. (Photo courtesy of Volodymyr Steliha/Canada Summer Games)
Lizzie Lingard lines up at the Kuujjuaq Forum to have her haul of aqpik berries weighed Wednesday afternoon. She and dozens of others headed to the forum lobby around 4:30 p.m. as the Aqpik Jam musical festival berry-picking competition came to a close. Seventy-seven people registered for the contest, which was organized by Kuujjuaq Pinguatitsijingiit Inc., the community’s recreation committee. Jessie Mesher won the first-place prize of $1,500 for collecting the biggest haul at 18.8 pounds of berries. (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)
A sealift worker drives a pickup truck off a sealift barge in Kuujjuaq on Tuesday afternoon. Like other remote northern communities, Kuujjuaq relies on the summer sealift for the shipment of large goods such as vehicles, construction materials and various other products. (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)
Norwegian tall ship Statsraad Lehmkuhl sits in Nuuk, Greenland, on Aug. 3. On Tuesday, it starts a journey through the Northwest Passage, passing Pond Inlet and Gjoa Haven before arriving in Cambridge Bay on Aug. 29, then continuing west through the Bering Strait to Whittier, Alaska. The Northwest Passage leg is chartered by UiT, the Arctic University of Norway, bringing together students and educators from around the world, including Canada. They’ll participate in Arctic Future Pathfinders, which aims to train students and young academics to become Arctic researchers. (Photo by Dustin Patar, special to Nunatsiaq News)
Cruise ship passengers Laura Ringer from Nelson, B.C., left, and Kate Butler from Toronto, set out in search of an automatic teller machine Tuesday in Iqaluit. The duo embarked on their first day of an Adventure Canada trip to Greenland aboard the cruise ship Ocean Endeavour. Butler said she hopes to spot a polar bear on the journey. (Photo by Daron Letts)
There was a celebration Saturday after whalers from Pangnirtung harvested a 14-metre bowhead near Kekerten Island. More than 20 people participated in the hunt, said Mark Kilabuk, office manager with the Pangnirtung Hunters and Trappers Organization. The hunters were still butchering the whale on Kekerten Island Monday afternoon. The meat will be shared with surrounding communities, Kilabuk said. (Photo courtesy of Laura Nauyuq)
Researcher Patricia Rokitnicki bands and measures a young snow bunting Sunday morning in Iqaluit. Rokitnicki is part of a research group that has located and studied 115 snow bunting nests across Iqaluit this year. The young bird in this image came from a nest of four located near the old graveyard, and was returned after briefly being studied. (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)
Jobe Kukilukak, 6, catches his first Arctic char of the summer season on the shore of Coronation Gulf in Kugluktuk over the weekend. An experienced fisherman, Kukilukak became the master of the rod when he was three. His mom, Papak Miyok, is planning to make some fish chowder with the footlong catch. (Photo courtesy of Christine Kuliktana)
After a day of fishing on July 6, Helen Annie Inuutiq’s Arctic char (pissi) dries in the sun at Salmon Creek near Pond Inlet. In the background is a view of the mountains of Bylot Island, which is located off the coast of northern Baffin Island. (Photo by Helen Annie Inuutiq)
Greenlandic tourists Paninnguaq Nathansen, left, Sofie Amondsen and Nora Christensen explore Iqaluit on Saturday. The Greenlandic trio are visiting the territorial capital to attend the Iqaluit Christian Fellowship youth conference, which runs until Wednesday. (Photo by Daron Letts)
David Nowyook demonstrates how to fillet a fish Saturday during a National Indigenous Peoples Day event hosted by Ilitaqsiniq. Several European tourists who were visiting Iqaluit enjoyed sampling raw Arctic char for the first time as part of the demonstration. (Photo by Daron Letts)
Igloolik musician Terry Uyarak performs an acoustic set at Blackheart Cafe in Iqaluit Friday afternoon. At least 30 people took a seat for his performance. More pop-up shows are set to take place at Blackheart over the weekend as part of the Alianait Arts Festival. (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)
Kuujjuaq recording artist Niivi Snowball performs “No Pride in Genocide,” Thursday at the Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre in Iqaluit. The musician was part of the lineup for the rainbow potluck and variety show hosted by the centre for Pride Month. Snowball performs again in the city this weekend as part of the Alianait Arts Festival. (Photo by Daron Letts)
RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme, left, shakes hands with Josephee Baines, an RCMP reservist and retired regular member, at the legislative assembly in Iqaluit on Monday. Baines was one of 14 Inuit RCMP employees celebrated for their use of Inuktitut in the workplace. (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)
