Paulatuk

Paulatuk's Inuit artists are known across Canada and around the world for dance, music, sculptures, prints, and drawings.

Floyd Kuptana was born in 1964. He studied under David Ruben Piqtoukun and began solo work in 1992. He is a carver, sculptor, and painter.[11]

Robert Kuptana was born in 1962. A carver since his youth, he studied under his brother Floyd and began professional work in 1998.[12]

The Paulatuk Moonlight Dancers are a group of traditional Inuvialuit dancers. They have performed in Canada, the United States, Greenland, and Germany, and are led by Michael “Nolan” Green. Green also served as a hamlet councillor and received a Canada Youth Award in 2002.[13]

Abraham Anghik Ruben was born south of Paulatuk in 1951 and lived on the land with his family until he was eight years old. He currently lives on Salt Spring Island.[14]

His 2001 sculpture The Last Goodbye reflects Ruben and his brothers' experiences of being separated from their family by Canada's residential school system. Ruben writes,

I clearly remember when this took place—my mother sitting with my older brother and sister, David and Martha, just before they left for the Mission school in Aklavik. David was five years old at the time and Martha was only a little older. It was a scene that was repeated later on when my other brothers and I were sent off to residential school. But this time, it was sadder for my mother, because it would be three years that David and Martha would be gone. They left in 1955 and we didn’t see them again until the latter part of 1958. Those three years had a permanent impact on my brother’s life."[15]

Abraham Anghik Ruben became an Officer in the Order of Canada on November 17, 2016 for his artistic contributions as a sculptor and for his preservation of northern heritage.

David Ruben Piqtoukun was born in Paulatuk in 1950. A sculptor and print artist, he is also brother to Abraham Anghik Ruben and was a mentor to Floyd Kuptana.[11]

A mayor has led the hamlet since its incorporation in 1987, when the first mayor, Garrett Ruben, was elected. Ruben was also a community leader before incorporation. As a young man he worked near the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line site at Cape Parry, but the area was isolated and far from traditional hunting grounds. After leaving this work, he negotiated for the community locally and in the south and became Settlement Chair prior to serving as mayor. Ruben died in 2007 at the age of 72. The hamlet has formally recognized him for his 24 years of service. Ray Ruben, the sixth and current mayor, is his son.[16]

Paulatuk elder Anny Illasiak, also known as Granny Uma, died in 2012 at the age of 74. A resident of Paulatuk since the 1970s, Illasiak was a leader in training children and young people to live on the land. She also organized a community sewing group, teaching others to make traditional clothing and creating tapestries herself, and volunteered as a cook with the Paulatuk Community Kitchen. She served as the Aboriginal language teacher for the Paulatuk Aboriginal Headstart Program for 10 years and continued to assist with the program after her retirement.[17]

Elizabeth "Liz" Kuptana, recipient of the Wallace Goose Award (given to those who have “shown beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he or she has unselfishly dedicated time, effort, and sometimes blood, sweat, and tears for the advancement and benefit of all Inuvialuit”) is a Paulatuk elder, teacher, and storyteller. She teaches children and youth about Inuvialuit culture and language as well as the history of the Inuvialuit Final Agreement.[18] She was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2013.[19]

Paulatuuq Oral History Project: Elders Share Their Stories was published in 2004.[20] Eight community elders, including Edward Ruben and Mary Evik Ruben, contributed to this record of the hamlet's oral history, completing interviews transcribed by Cathy Cockney.[21]