Katherine Takpannie 

Katherine Takpannie is an urban Inuk whose family is originally from Apex Hill, near Iqaluit. However, she was born in Montreal. Takpannie is a self-taught, emerging photographer who wants to reveal the complexities and nuances of urban Inuit life. Her visual language expands out from lifestyle portraiture to include lush landscapes and gritty urban scenes. Takpannie also captures performative and political gestures with the goal of raising awareness and bringing forth important conversations.

The story behind the image

This photograph is one of a series of images Katherine Takpannie has in her website portfolio. Saved under Landscapes, Iqaluit | ᐃᖃᓗᐃᑦ, this image (Iqaluit #10, 2018) is one of 15 that, together, honour her anaana (mother). Taken in her mother’s hometown and accompanied by this poem, the images capture the essence of Kunnuk Takpanie and what she means to Katherine.

My anaana | mother 

My anaana is crisp cold air. 

My anaana is sounds of GRUK GRUK. 

My anaana is boisterous laughter and running into people she knows. 

My anaana is warm caribou stew. 

My anaana is stories of ravens. 

My anaana is always taking care of me. 

My anaana is video rentals and walking around town. 

My anaana is my home.

David Kilabuk 

David Kilabuk is a photographer and digital creator based in Panniqtuuq (Pangnirtung). He uses his cameras to capture moments in his community, as well as the spectacular wildlife and landscapes of Nunavut. His photography has been featured in the Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada and magazines such as Canadian Geographic and National Geographic. 

The story behind the image

This photo dates back to 2011 but David Kilabuk still remembers it well. A number of respected Elders in the community had made this sealskin tent, demonstrating skills they used before Inuit moved into wooden houses. The Elders wanted to show younger people how their dwellings used to be constructed and what they looked like. “This is a special photo as I saw the pride in the faces of the Elders as they were describing this and putting it up,” says Kilabuk. “Even Elders who were not originally involved came to help. They told of how it was to live in one. It was a special moment.” Here, the late Iga Etuangat sits with her granddaughter, Allie, who is now in college.

Cora Kavyaktok 

Cora Kavyaktok of Little Inuk Photography is originally from Cambridge Bay (Iqaluktuuttiaq) and now lives in Alberta. Her portraits for the Inuit Tattoo Revitalization Project celebrate and bear witness to the cultural continuance of female Inuit tattooing. This image was featured in Reawakening Our Ancestors’ Lines, a book of stories and images in which she collaborated with author Hovak Johnston to document the experiences of Inuit women bringing back this traditional art and sharing their knowledge with future generations. 

The story behind the image

When Hovak Johnston launched the Inuit Tattoo Revitalization Project in Kugluktuk in 2016, they knew of just a handful of women there with traditional tattoos. During that initial visit, Johnston collaborated with two other tattoo artists to tattoo 25 women, while Kavyaktok used her skills as a portrait photographer to record each woman’s journey. Over the next three years Kavyaktok would document similar gatherings in Iqluktuuttiaq (Cambridge Bay), Kangiqliniq (Rankin Inlet) and Ulukhaktok. The popularity of traditional tattooing has since undergone a huge resurgence. “It’s amazing to know I have been a small part of history,” explains Kavyaktok. “It is so important that we no longer have to be afraid of who we are. We can embrace the beauty within our culture and within ourselves.”

This photo, shows Kavyaktok’s cousin, Mary Taletok, holding up an ulu — a traditional woman’s knife used for everything from sewing to cleaning hides and cutting up food. “I love this photo because it shows the strength behind our culture and, to me, lifting the ulu in the air is a sign of sharing with the world that we as Inuit are still here, practicing our culture and proud of who we are.”

David Kakuktinniq Jr. 

Born and raised in Rankin Inlet, photographer David Kakuktinniq Jr. spends his free time out on the land, capturing images of the area’s wildlife, including the annual migrations of the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq caribou herds, as well as muskox, seals and polar bears. He credits being raised in both modern and traditional ways as being key factors that allow him to feel comfortable in nature and inspire him to highlight the beauty of the wildlife and the landscapes around Rankin Inlet. On clear nights, he sets out to find the perfect locations to capture the northern lights dancing across the skies.  

The story behind the image

After a few weeks of clouds, the skies cleared in late September 2023 and David Kakuktinniq Jr. took full advantage. “The night started off with crystal-clear skies and stars emerging out of the blue. As soon as darkness started setting in, the lights started shining,” he wrote on an Instagram post showing some of his favourite photos from that night. “What started as a small glowing line, quickly grew to an array of bright and vibrant series of lights.” A night sky photo would have been spectacular enough, but Kakuktinniq Jr. captured an even more memorable series of images when he stumbled across a small puddle and photographed the aurora’s reflection. 

Pat Kane 

Pat Kane is a visual storyteller based in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. With support from the Trebek Initiative (a grant program operated by the Royal Canadian Geographic Society and National Geographic to help promote explorers, scientists, educators and photographers into storytellers), he has travelled extensively in Nunavut and Northwest Territories in recent years to document food sovereignty and the struggle to access healthy food in Northern Canada. Of Irish-Canadian and Algonquin Anishinaabe ancestry and a member of the Timiskaming First Nation, he has had his work published in Canadian Geographic, National Geographic, The New York Times, World Press Photo, The Atlantic, The Globe and Mail, among others.

The story behind the image

Pat Kane was on assignment in Iqaluit in 2021, just as the country was opening back up again after the pandemic. While he was there, Iqaluit residents complained that the water smelled and tasted like fuel. Testing soon revealed hydrocarbons in the city’s water supply. While photographing and interviewing people waiting in line for bottled water near the high school, Kane noticed a group of teens playing basketball nearby. “This is a typical scene in the Arctic, especially during the summer when the sun is out until late in the evening and kids are playing long into the night,” he notes. “On this particular day, I found it refreshing that in a time of stress and frustration, a group of friends could gather on an unseasonably warm October evening and shoot some hoops together.” If you look closely, you can see the lineup in the background.