About

Igloolik

Igloolik literally means "the place where there are houses." This hamlet is in Nunavut (Canada) in the region of Qikiqtaaluk (Baffin) on a small island of the Foxe Basin. For more than 4,000 years, Inuit have inhabited this land and exploited its resources of fish and wildlife. They became established in this hamlet from the late 1950s onward, at a time when the Arctic administration was being developed. Iglulimmiut, literally "the inhabitants of Igloolik" in Inuktitut, now number about 2,000 people and are known for their cultural vitality. This location currently has the headquarters of Igloolik Isuma Productions Inc., the women's video collective Arnait Video Productions, the Igloolik Oral History Project, a satellite location of Nunavut Arctic College, and the circus troupe Artcirq. This is a place where you'll meet great hunters and skilful seamstresses, elders enriched by life experiences, and dynamic, creative young people.

This photo offers a view of Igloolik in the summer. There is no snow on the ground, and several houses stand near the water's edge. In their midst, we see a mushroom-shaped building and blocks of ice scattered along the shoreline.

The project

The virtual exhibition Inuit Worlds is the outcome of a four-year collaborative effort that brought together the village of Igloolik and Université Laval to discuss approximately fifty objects from the community. The objects were gathered in the 1960s by anthropologist Bernard Saladin d’Anglure, now a professor emeritus at Université Laval. They were the reason for multiple meetings that brought cultures and generations together, with the eventual aim of creating a digital teaching tool. The outcome was this virtual exhibition. It is meant for young people in Inuit communities, for university students and professors, and for the public at large. These audiences will, we hope, discover the richness of Inuit culture in Canada.

Composed of 354 objects from Nunavut and Nunavik, the Saladin d’Anglure collection attests to past ways of life and the rapid transformations of Inuit societies as they moved off the land and into settled communities. There is much educational value in the portrayal of everyday life shown by these artefacts and by copies of objects by local artists. Following the bequest of this collection to Université Laval in 2018, the university library and the anthropology department decided to promote it and increase its value for the public. They created the physical exhibition Mondes inuit, which opened in March 2019 at the library. Because this was a temporary exhibition, and because the collections staff at Université Laval were working actively to preserve these fragile objects, the library came up with the idea of creating a virtual exhibition on the same subject. Because Bernard Saladin d’Anglure had close ties with the community of Igloolik, and because so many of the objects came from this hamlet (a third of the collection), a team of anthropologists went on site in April 2022 to explore this idea and propose a joint project.

Preliminary meetings were first held in Igloolik. Then Nunavut Arctic College, through one of its teachers Jack Haulli, and Igloolik High School decided to get actively involved in the project. For them, the objects brought by the team were a beautiful opportunity to talk about the history and culture behind these items and to encourage the transmission of knowledge from elders to young people. School and community workshops were held, two elders from the community went to Quebec City to discover the collection and share their knowledge, and Jack Haulli took part in each project stage. Ultimately, five trips were organized between 2022 and 2025, three to Igloolik and two to Quebec City. Each trip led to fascinating meetings about the objects and provided information and accounts about how they were previously and currently used. The audio and video recordings of the meetings became valuable source materials for the virtual exhibition, being also given to Nunavut Arctic College for teaching purposes.

This tangible and intangible heritage is presented here as part of a broader, ongoing concern to honour Iglulimmiut creativity and intelligence. We wish to offer our heartfelt thanks to everyone who, through all these years, has directly or indirectly helped create this virtual exhibition. Our thanks go to each project member and to many others, especially Guillaume Saladin (circus troupe Artcirq), Sylvie Leblanc (Department of Culture and Heritage of the Nunavut government), Elizabeth Awa, and Mary Kunuk (language and culture teachers at Iglulik High School).

Cinq élèves et une professeure inuit sont réunis autour d'une table, sur laquelle est posée une tête de harpon et sa corde. Quatre élèves portent un gant de plastique, l'un d'entre eux tient la tête de harpon.

Three people are sitting around a table (overhead view). An object is placed in the middle. On the left, two Inuit, one of whom is holding a microphone, are talking about the object and pointing at it. On the right, a person is watching. A recording device is on the table.

Four people are sitting around a table, on which are placed Inuit objects and a recording device. Three people are sitting and one is standing. An Inuk elder is holding the microphone. Two other people are discussing.

Five people are sitting around a table, on which are placed several Inuit objects. An Inuk elder has a microphone in one hand and a harpoon line in the other. Another person is wearing a headset that covers her ears and is connected to a recording device.

On the right of the photo (side view), three people are sitting behind a table on which is placed an object. They are sharing what they know about it. Facing them is another person (seated). A video camera and a microphone are recording their discussion.

Bernard Saladin d'Anglure is standing. He is facing Deborah Qaunaq (Inuk elder, seated) and Natalino Piugattuk (Inuk elder, standing). Both elders are wearing white amautis with finely embroidered colour decorations. Everyone is smiling.

Five people are standing (front view): Roland Taqtu (Inuk translator), Deborah Qaunaq and Natalino Piugattuk (two Inuit elders), Bernard Saladin d'Anglure (who brought together this collection of objects), and Francoise Morin (his spouse).

Two elders and an Inuit translator are sharing their knowledge about objects on a table in front of them. The are all seated and facing a camera. Each elder is wearing a white amauti with finely embroidered colour decorations. On the table in front of them are five arrows, two quivers, and a bow that one of the elders is pointing at with his finger.

The team

Krystal Aqatsiaq

An employee at Igloolik High School and granddaughter of Michel Kupaq, one of the artisans who made many objects of the collection, Krystal today wishes to offer young people the knowledge she learned from him. She was interviewed in Igloolik and provided precious information about certain objects discussed in the audio capsules of the website.

Marie Dufour

As the person in charge of cultural mediation at the Université Laval library, Marie Dufour coordinated the physical exhibition Mondes Inuit and started up the project for a virtual exhibition. She brought together and harmonized the work of the different teams that helped create the website: the Université Laval teams (anthropologists and collections staff), the graphic designers, the Web designers, and Digital Museums Canada.

Jack Haulli

The project's key collaborator and local coordinator was Jack Haulli, an instructor at Nunavut Arctic College. As an advisor and cultural and linguistic interpreter, he took part in all the project stages from developing the methodology to assessing the virtual interface, all the while suggesting people to meet and sharing his knowledge about several objects of the collection. He also contributed to post-production work on the audio and video capsules during a stay at Université Laval in April 2024. A lover of history and language, he deeply wishes to help pass on knowledge from elders and took part previously in several projects on elder-youth knowledge transmission. Being also a talented artist, he provided this website with the drawings of the four spheres of life.

Caroline Hervé

A professor in the anthropology department at Université Laval, Caroline Hervé provided the scientific oversight of this virtual exhibition. Having conducted research in the Canadian Arctic since 2010, she hopes her work will promote the richness of Inuit history and culture. She supervised all the project stages, from first contacts with project partners to production of content for the virtual exhibition.

Rhoda Innuksuk

A former oral history researcher for the Nunavut government, Rhoda Innuksuk is renowned for her language-related knowledge and her talents as an interpreter and translater. She has worked with many researchers throughout her career, including Bernard Saladin d’Anglure. With this background, she agreed to take part in the project and be interviewed about several objects of the collection.

Elizabeth Kappianaq

An employee at Iglulik High School, Elizabeth Kappianaq likewise wishes to pass on the richness of her culture to young generations. She has thus enriched the content of this virtual exhibition through the personal accounts she provided.

Leah Panimera

An employee in the Department of Culture and Heritage of the Nunavut government, Leah Panimera is also an actress and cofounder of the circus troupe Artcirq. She is renowned for her knowledge about know-how from the past and agreed to join the project to pass on her knowledge to young people and to promote the richness of Inuit culture.

Natalino Piugattuk

An elder renowned notably for his expertise in hunting practices and dogsledding, Natalino Piugattuk is the son of Michel Kupak, who made many objects of the collection and was a key source of information for Bernard Saladin d’Anglure. As a major project contributor, he greatly helped document the objects of this virtual exhibition when he came to Université Laval in autumn 2022 and when the team came to Igloolik. He wishes to pass on his knowledge and gave many illuminating personal accounts, by audio and video, for this virtual exhibition.

Deborah Qaunaq

An elder renowned for her expertise in sewing and making traditional clothing, Deborah Qaunaq is the daughter of Noah Piugattuk, one of the artisans who made several objects of the collection and a key person in the history of Igloolik. She now wishes to pass on the knowledge she learned from her father and has taken part in many projects to protect and preserve cultural knowledge. She has notably made the costumes for some of the films by Zacharias Kunuk, a world-renowned Inuk producer and director. For this project, she proved to be a key contributor. She came to Quebec City in autumn 2022 to discover Bernard Saladin d’Anglure's collection of objects and to share her expertise through many personal audio and video accounts presented here. She also took part, with the team of anthropologists, in project-related community activities in Igloolik.

Valentine Ribadeau Dumas

With a master's degree in anthropology and 15 years of experience on scientific and exploratory missions to the Arctic, Valentine Ribadeau Dumas did all of the coordinating work to cocreate this virtual exhibition. She was the main artisan of this collaboration with the community of Igloolik and the different project partners. She also raised the funds, organized the different trips to Igloolik and Quebec City, and took part in all the stages of content creation (text, video, and audio).

Bernard Saladin d'Anglure

Professor emeritus at Université Laval and renowned anthropologist, Bernard Saladin d’Anglure has been conducting research with Inuit in Nunavut and Nunavik for nearly 40 years. He is famous for his work on kinship and shamanism. In the 1970s, he founded the journal Études Inuit Studies and established the Inuit Studies Conference, which is still being held. Since the beginning of his career, he has worked in the hamlet of Igloolik, developing a close relationship with many Iglulimmiut, including certain artisans who made objects that appear in this virtual exhibition, notably Michel Kupak and Noah Piugattuk. In 2018, he bequeathed his collection to Université Laval, thus paving the way for its preservation and enhancement. For this project, he provided certain details about the objects: how they were obtained, where and when they were created, and for what purpose. Bernard Saladin d'Anglure passed away on February 12, 2025. We hope this virtual museum will preserve and honour the memory of his work.

Marie-Pierre Thibault

The commissioner of this virtual exhibition, Marie-Pierre Thibault holds a master's degree in anthropology from Université Laval. Previously, she was also the commissioner of the physical exhibition Mondes inuit. Her work included collecting information about the objects by going to Igloolik and welcoming Iglulimmiut to Quebec City and producing content, notably by writing texts for the online exhibition.

Terry Uyarak

An author-composer-performer, Terry Uyarak is renowned throughout Canada for his music. He also works for the Department of Culture and Heritage of the Nunavut government, and is a storehouse of knowledge on dogsledding and hunting of sea and land mammals. He is also the grandson of Uyarak, who made some of the objects in the collection. Through the personal accounts he provided, he wishes to make known the expertise of his ancestors and of Inuit in general.