Alootook Ipellie

Ipellie was born in the small hunting camp of Nuvuqquq[2] near Frobisher Bay, Northwest Territories, now known as Iqaluit, Nunavut on Baffin Island. His father, Joanassie, died in a hunting accident before Ipellie's first birthday,[3] and his mother, Napatchie, moved with him to the hamlet of Frobisher Bay.[4] "He spent his childhood and early teenage years adjusting to the transition from the traditional nomadic Inuit way of life to life in government-sponsored Inuit settlements." [5] His grandfather was the sculptor Ennutsiak.[6]

There was no high school in his community so Ipellie had to move to complete his education. He ended up at Ottawa's High School of Commerce where he discovered his artistic ability. Ipellie eventually settled in Ottawa.

Ipellie worked as a journalist, cartoonist and editor for Inuit Monthly ( aka Inuit Today) during the 1970s and 80s.[7] In 1974, he started producing the comic strip "Ice Box" [3] that became a regular feature in Inuit Monthly. "The cartoons featured the Nook family and provided northern readers with a humorous look at issues affecting the Arctic. The Nooks, like Ipellie himself, were living through a transitional period in the North during which traditional Inuit language, social structure, and means of survival were being superseded by the new social, religious, and political structures of the South."[8]

He also participated in films like The Owl and the Raven and Legends and Life of the Inuit.

He then went on to create the comic strip Nuna and Vut in the 1990s.[9] These cartoons explored Inuit life during the creation of Nunavut. Using humor and illustrations, he commented on the social issues and inequity in Inuit communities.

Some of his poetry "The Igloos Are Calm in the Camp," "the Dancing Sun," "The Water Moved an Instant Before" were published in special issues of Canadian Literature.[10] Professor Michael P. J. Kennedy believes "Ipellie to be one of Canada's finest, and under-rated, aboriginal writers."[11]

He collaborated with authors providing the illustrations to books like Paper stays put : a collection of Inuit writing edited by Robin Gedalof.

Ipellie made a significant contribution to Canadian Literature with the publication of his short story collection " Arctic Dreams and Nightmares," presenting the changes and challenges faced by the Inuit. This was the first published work by an Inuk author.[7]

Three illustrated poems by Alootook were published when he was 17 called 'Hot to Warm and Cool to Cold'. It begins ...

"The mosquitos are at large today

As the wind stills, as the sun heats,

And we walk the rocks under,

Searching the hills for the meat

And hide of the useful caribou

that feeds and clothes my family,

Through four different seasons

When the winds change from

Hot to warm, and cool to cold."[12][13]

Other poems include: " Nipikti the Old Man Carver," "Frobisher Bay Childhood," "Damn Those Invaders" and "Siqiniq 'The Sun'" published in poetry anthologies and journals. (p. 355)[8]

In 2019, Ipellie was inducted into the Canadian Cartoonists Hall of Fame.[14]

Ipellie died of a heart attack in Ottawa, Ontario at age 56 [1] and is survived by his daughter, Taina Ipellie.

Inuit Art Quarterly has a list of exhibitions and public galleries that contain Alootook Ipellie's work.[15]