Mitiarjuk Nappaaluk

Mitiarjuk Attasie Nappaaluk CM (1931–2007[1]) was a Canadian Inuk writer.[2] She was most noted for Sanaaq, one of the first Inuktitut language novels;[3] although written earlier, it was published later than Markoosie Patsauq's Harpoon of the Hunter.[2] Sanaaq was first published in French in 2002, then in English in 2014.

Born in 1931 near Kangiqsujuaq, Quebec,[4] she never had formal education before she was twenty.[5] She began writing the novel in the early 1950s when an Oblate missionary in the area asked her to write some sentences in Inuktitut so he could learn the language.[2] Written in Inuktitut syllabics, the novel was not published until 1984, but quickly became a cultural touchstone in Inuit communities throughout the Canadian Arctic.[2] A French translation of the novel was published in 2002, and an English edition was published in 2014.[2]

Nappaaluk also translated the Roman Catholic Book of Prayer into Inuktitut, and wrote several books on traditional language and culture for use in Inuit schools. She served on Nunavik's Inuktitut Language Commission, and was a consultant with the Kativik School Board.[4] She was married to Naalak Nappaaluk, also a noted promoter of Inuit cultural traditions.[6]

She was named a Member of the Order of Canada in 2004.[7] She also won a National Aboriginal Achievement Award, and received an honorary degree from McGill University.[7]