Mitiarjuk Nappaaluk

Mitiarjuk Attasie Nappaaluk CM (Inuktitut: ᒥᑎᐊᕐᔪᒃ ᐊᑦᑕᓯ ᓇᑉᐹᓗᒃ; 1931 – April 30, 2007) was an Inuk author, educator, and sculptor from Kangiqsujuaq in Nunavik, in northern Quebec, Canada.

For her efforts in supporting and preserving Inuit culture, Nappaaluk was recognized with a National Aboriginal Achievement Award (1999) and an honorary degree from McGill University (2000).

[1] Because she was the elder of two daughters – and had no brothers – she grew up learning both women's traditional work and skills more ordinarily taught to men, such as hunting caribou and seals.

[2][3]: vii As a young woman, Nappaaluk was well liked and highly regarded for her strong skills as a hunter, and when she was 16 she received several offers of courtship from men in local communities.

[1] She agreed to begin writing down words and sentences for educational purposes, but soon began developing a longer story of her own, which eventually became the novel Sanaaq.

[2] Nappaaluk's novel follows the story of an Inuit family, describing their traditional ways of life while also exploring the changes effected when settlers and missionaries from the south arrive in the community.

[5] The manuscript was completed over the course of more than 20 years, the writing balanced alongside Nappaaluk's obligations as a parent and educator and interrupted twice by trips south for tuberculosis treatment.