Nunavut artist remembers her mother and niece through new album

It's been 20 years since Jo Ellen Pameolik released an album, but she hasn't stopped making music. 

The Arviat, Nunavut, singer-songwriter released her newest album, Pink Sky, this past week after spending time raising her family.  

"I'm really happy that I went through with it and that I can share my music with the world again, finally," Pameolik said. 

As a single mother, Pameolik said she wanted to focus on raising her kids and providing for them. 

"Now that they're a little bit bigger, I could finally do something for myself," Pameolik said. 

It's been a long time since she put out an album — since 2004, to be exact. 

"I was scared. I didn't know how it was going to turn out."

Making music for her family 

Writing music is more than just a hobby for Pameolik. It's also a way to heal, she said. 

She wrote the title track on her album, Pink Sky, for her niece who died by suicide. 

"It's a topic that's really hard to discuss with other people," she said. 

"At the same time, you have to move on. The time doesn't stop. You really just learn how to love. Expressing myself through music has helped me grieve."

The first track on the album, called "Anaanaga", is dedicated to her mother, who died from cancer in 2018. Her mother raised eight children and "many, many, many" grandchildren. 

She said she started writing the song for her mother when she was 15, when she had just learned how to play three chords on the guitar. She finished it years later. 

"The song just came to me. It was so natural. I didn't have to think hard about what I wanted to say about my mom," she said. 

She said the song is dedicated to every mother who has gone above and beyond for their children.

"A lot changed when she passed away, but now we're able to embrace and remember her humility and her grace and her love, and continue on," she said. 

"She raised me to be who I am today. She was phenomenal, amazing. It really meant a lot to me to remember her forever."

Pameolik worked with Nunavut-based label Hitmakerz on her album. 

As for what's next, she plans to perform songs from her new album at Iqaluit's Alianait Arts Festival this summer.