Susan Aglukark to receive Humanitarian Award at 2022 Junos

Inuk singer-songwriter Aglukark honoured for work with Arctic Rose Foundation

By Nunatsiaq News

Inuk singer-songwriter Susan Aglukark will receive the Humanitarian Award at the 2022 Juno Awards for her work providing after-school programs for Indigenous youth.

The Humanitarian Award recognizes an outstanding Canadian artist or industry leader whose contributions have positively enhanced the social fabric of Canada.

Aglukark, 55, founded the Arctic Rose Foundation to provide Indigenous-led, arts-based and culturally-grounded after-school programs to Inuit, First Nations and Métis youth in northern Canada.

In a media release Wednesday, Aglukark, who grew up in Arviat, said it is a “privilege” to receive the award and to have the opportunity to “help create safe spaces for northern Inuit and Indigenous youth to explore their own potential and forge cultural connections through Indigenous-led programs.”

“I am proud of the work our team at the Arctic Rose Foundation has achieved so far and look forward to expanding our footprint across the North,” she said.

Jane Hamilton, co-chair of the Arctic Rose Foundation, said she is inspired by Aglukark’s “unwavering passion, determination, and creativity.”

“She is the reason the Arctic Rose Foundation has been able to achieve what it has,” said Hamilton.

Aglukark’s music blends Inuit folk, country and pop music and has made her one of the most high-profile Indigenous singers in Canada. She has released seven albums and was the first Inuk artist to win a Juno award, winning three throughout her career.

She has also received a Governor General’s Performing Arts award for lifetime artistic achievement and was named to the Order of Canada in 2004.

Aglukark will be honoured at the Juno Opening Night Awards on May 14 in Toronto.

Past winners of the Humanitarian Award include The Tragically Hip, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Arcade Fire, Rush, Neil Young, Sarah McLachlan, Tom Jackson and Bruce Cockburn.