Kyra Kilabuk talks about food prices in the North on TikTok. Her fans responded by sending boxes of food
Within two weeks last September, Kilabuk’s followers sent about 80 boxes of food to Iqaluit
Kyra Kilabuk makes TikTok videos about life in the North.
"I think it's extremely important that the younger generation and whoever is on Tik Tok are…not just aware of Nunavut, but the reality that we face here," she said in the CBC documentary Arctic Blue with Peter Mansbridge.
In her videos, Kilabuk talks about traditional Inuit tattoos, petroleum in the water supply, the legacy of residential schools, traditional food and culture and the cost of housing and food.
Kilabuk's videos documenting prices at local grocery stores are especially popular.
Her first "price check" video of 2022 showed packages of aluminium foil that cost $70.29 and boxes of cereal that will set you back $19.49. It's been seen by almost three-quarters of a million people. One of her earlier videos features a grocery bill for essentials; it rang up at $432.30.
"I didn't realise how many people weren't aware of the prices here," she said.
When one of Kilabuk's videos went viral in 2021, her followers took action: they sent boxes and boxes of food donations to Iqaluit.
"The [were] about 53 boxes in just one day, and then the following day there was another 30. Ever since then, it's been about 50 a week," she said in the documentary.
So what happens to all that donated food? Kilabuk and her family distribute it to families in the community.
Kyra Kilabuk's story is featured in Arctic Blue with Peter Mansbridge. It examines Canada's North as climate change creates greater access for shipping, industry and tourism — and what these changes will mean for local Inuit populations.
