Eli Sallualu Qinuajua was born on January 2, 1937 at Isisuivik, a camp located roughly forty miles south of Puvirnituq in northern Quebec. Except for two brief periodswhile hospitalized for tuberculosis in the south, Eli spent most of his life in Puvirnituq. In 1962, he married Leah Irqirqu Amaruali, daughter of artist Paulusi Iqiqu Amaruali. 

In addition to carving stone, Eli was an accomplished actor who has in several radio plays hosted by CBC Northern Circuits. As a youth, he spent much of his time learning ancient lore from his father, Juanisi Qinuajua - one of the great storytellers of northern Quebec. In his book 
SCULPTURE OF THE ESKIMO, George Swinton states that " In Eli Sallualuk's carvings, the mixture of skill and fantasy leads to a daliesque surrealism - a highly descriptive yet fantastically abstract supernaturalism."  

In 1967, Eli was awarded first prize for his submission to a special local competition of 'imaginative sculpture' held in Puvirnituq. His work has received much acclaim and has been exhibited around the world. 
 

Exhibitions

• Aux frontieres de l'imaginaire inuit, Galerie du Trait-Carre
• Cultures of the Sun and the Snow: Indian and Eskimo Art of the Americas, Musee des beaux-arts de Montreal held at "Man and His World"
• Eskimo Art in Northern Quebec, presented by La Federation des Cooperatives du Nouveau-Quebec at "Man and His World"
• Eskimo Carvings, Waddington
• Eskimo Fantastic Art, Gallery 111, School of Art, University of Manitoba
• Immaginario Inuit Arte e cultura degli esquimesi canadesi, Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea
• Kanuitpit? Kunst und Kulturen der Eskimo: Eine Auswahl aus den Museumssammlungen, Staatliches Museum fur Volkerkunde Munchen
• Multiple Realities: Inuit Images of Shamanic Transformation, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Povungnituk, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Sanaugasi Takujaksat: A Travelling Celebration of Inuit Sculpture, Presented by Canadian Arctic Producers Ltd., with the assistance of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Ottawa
• Sculpture d'artisti eschimesi, Casino Municipal
• Sculpture of the Inuit: Lorne Balshine Collection/Lou Osipov Collection/ Dr. Harry Winrob Collection, Surrey Art Gallery
• Sculptures Inuit du Nouveau-Quebec, Quebec 84
• Sojourns to Nunavut: Contemporary Inuit Art from Canada, at Bunkamura Art Gallery, presented by the University of British Columbia Museum of Anthropology and The McMichael Canadian Art Collection
• Spirit Sculpture by Eli Salualuk of Povungnituk, The Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art
• Takamit - Canadian Eskimo Art: Selections from Private Collections and the Government of Canada, Organized by La Federation des Cooperatives du Nouveau-Quebec and the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University
• The Art of the Eskimo, Simon Fraser Gallery, Simon Fraser University
• The Art of the Eskimo, Newman Galleries
• The Bessie Bulman Collection, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• The Coming and Going of the Shaman: Eskimo Shamanism and Art, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• The First Passionate Collector: The Ian Lindsay Collection of Inuit Art, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• The Inuit Imagination, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• The Swinton Collection of Inuit Art, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Tundra & Ice: Stone Images of Animals and Man, presented by Orca Aart at the Adventurers' Club
• Uumajut: Animal Imagery in Inuit Art, Winnipeg Art Gallery

Collections

• Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
• Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull
• James and Mary Jack Collection, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana
• Musee de la civilisation, Quebec City
• Musee des beaux-arts de Montreal, Montreal
• Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
• National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
• Saputik Museum, Povungnituk
• Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, Banff
• Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg