User:Im.Hussein/Akitiq Sanguya

Introduction:

Akitiq Sanguya is an Inuit artist from the Clyde river settlement located in the East of Canada's Largest Island,Baffin Island.

Alternative Names: Sanguya Sanguya,Sangooyak Sanguya,Akitil Sanguya,Akitik Sanguya

Inuit Art

Akitiqs Inuk Artworks:

Akitiq Sanguya has many different artistic mediums. However, her soapstone sculptures are what she is best known for. Her artwork is done traditionally, using techniques like the ax and file and polishing iby hand and materials used for generations by the Inuit people.Her artwork often depicts people and animals which are believed to have a strong balanced relationship in the Inuit culturee.

By the 1960s fine Inuit art was being pushed toward southern markets. This was in an attempt to build the self-sufficiency of the Inuit people. Most of the art was done traditionally and featured cultural aspects of the Inuit people within them.

Dolls:

Akitiq usually creates dolls that depict aspects of Inuit culture and their relationship with animals. Her dolls are usually made of stone and the human ones are properly fashioned in different Inuit clothing made from animal fur. Not only did this art provide her with money but she is also able to represent her culture through her artwork.

https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/aanc-inac/R12-66-5-1.pdf

Subsist 

Featured in the Winnepeg Art Gallery from November 2019 to May 2020. Subsist is a collection of works from a multitude of Indigenous artists. The collaboration symbolizes the degeneration of their culture from global capitalism and colonialism.

Advocacy:

The Truth Commission is an organization established by the Canadian government to uncover and record human rights violations and exploitations that occurred throughout the country's past. Each region usually has their own Truth Commission which allows for an in depth analysis of the communities past.The commission aims to stop these kinds of atrocities from occurring again by bringing awareness and identifying the causes and perpetrators of these offenses.

Qikitqani Truth Commission

In the early 2000s Inuit people from Qikiqtani Inuit Association and Makivik Corporation of Nunavik called upon the Canadian government to create a Qikitqani Truth commission. This commission would allow the community to investigate instances of ethnic cleansing ,cultural erasure, and the killing of Qimmiit.(Sled dogs) The Inuit people uncovered many things that stemmed from colonialism. Between 1950 and 1975 the Canadian government was directly responsible for the deterioration of the Qikitqani region. Some of these offenses included

-forced relocation without honoring promises of improved conditions, resulting in the loss of family, community, and culture.

-Forcing Inuit children into residential schools and other institutions that used only English. This caused the children to lose their ability to speak their native tongue resulting in the loss of culture and family connections. If children did not attend these institutions the families allowance,which had become crucial to their survival in the settlement,would be taken away.

-Killing Qimmiit(sled dogs), Qimmiits are integral parts of Inuit society; they provide transportation for both people and supplies. By killing these animals the Canadian Government had a hand in food scarcity in the Arctic and transportation issues.

These policies lead to the weakening of the Inuit people and their culture and can be linked to intergenerational trauma.

Akitiq Sanguya also contributed to the Qikitqani Truth commission by describing instances of violence against Qimmiit (sled dogs). A recording captures the interview where she explains an instance where a RCMP officer and an Inuk constable attempted to kill a group of dogs in her family's spring camp before being stopped by their owner. She also provided information about the experiences of Pauloosie Panalak a now-deceased acquaintance. Akitiq relays the story about Pauloosie losing all of his 16 dogs to this violence against Qimmits carried out by the Canadian Government. After Pauloosie returned from a quick supply run he encountered all his dogs murdered while still being tied down with his sled. This resulted in the displacement of Pauloosie who was not able to return to his home camp.

Impacts of Qikitqani Truth Commission:

The Qikitqani Truth Commission resulted in a formal apology from the Canadian Government followed by a commitment to promote Inuit culture, history, and development through the finical support of the Saimaqatigiingniq Fund. This was only made possible through the work of Qikiqtani Inuit Association and Canadian government.

Other Activities:

In 2016 Akitiq taught a three-week course on traditional Inuit sewing techniques. Made possible by the local non profit group the Ilisaqsivik Society elder committee. The class taught students how to make kamiks which are traditional Inuit footwear composed of animal hides.

Current Day:

Today, Akitiq Sanguya still practices her art. After the covid-19 pandemic, Akitikq is once again having her art displayed. In the summer of 2022, Akitiq will be featured amongst other Inuit artists at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. The exhibition, Kakiniit/Hivonighijotaa: Inuit Embodied Practices and Meanings, uses traditional Inuit tattooing and its connections to Shamanism to explore indigenous cultural reclamation and Inuit identity. Kakiniit(Inuit taditional tattoos) are important to the Inuit identity and were once prohibited by missionaries. However, in recent years there has been a revitalization of Kakinniit and their importance to the Inuit people.