Susan Aglukark shares her Inuk heritage with Saskatoon youth

Responsibility was a recurring theme throughout the stories Susan Aglukark shared with a group of youth in Saskatoon at the Broadway Theatre.

The Inuk recording artist gave a 90-minute multimedia performance full of stories, music and videos as part of the Scene Youth Media Festival.

"My responsibility, I feel now, is giving them a glimpse so that they can take it home and do their own research, and then form and share those stories." 

Aglukark — who grew up in Arviat, Nunavut — used the multimedia presentation to tell the youth in attendance her own story of growing up in the Arctic and relocating to Ottawa, eventually launching her music career.

"It was a conscious effort to have them leave with a knowing that all of the different aboriginal communities — whether they be First Nations, Inuit or Métis — have a rich history. We have a very rich background."

Aglukark used snippets of video throughout her presentation to highlight the Arctic, her ancestral homeland that she visits "a couple times a year." Again, she felt a certain responsibility to do so.

"We have a responsibility ourselves — to ourselves — to honour that past and who we were as a traditional people." 

The crowd at the dimly-lit Broadway Theatre watched intently as Aglukark performed her songs with video backdrops behind her. There were a few moments where she was looking at herself in music videos from a couple of decades ago.

When asked about this, Aglukark chuckled.

"It's always neat to see yourself 20 years ago and how you are now today. But you know what? I love my life. I love every stage of it."