Aaju Peter (born 1960 in Arkisserniaq,

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

) is an

Inuk Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labr ...

lawyer, activist and

sealskin Sealskin is the skin of a seal. Seal skins have been used by the peoples of North America and northern Eurasia for millennia to make waterproof jackets and boots, and seal fur to make fur coats. Sailors used to have tobacco pouches made from ...

clothes designer. In 2012, she received the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

. In the 1980s Peter married a Canadian and moved to Frobisher Bay, now

Iqaluit Iqaluit is the capital of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. It is the territory's largest community and its only city, and the northernmost city in Canada. It was known as Frobisher Bay from 1942 to 1987, after the large bay on the coast on ...

. She raised five children on her own and still resides in Iqaluit. She has travelled across Greenland, Europe, and Canada, performing modern drum dance and traditional singing and displaying sealskin fashions. She graduated from

Akitsiraq Law School Akitsiraq Law School is a legal education program designed to increase the number of lawyers in Nunavut and the Canadian Arctic, including a program leading to a Bachelor of Laws Degree (LL.B.) in Iqaluit, Nunavut. The Law School has no perma ...

in 2005 and was called to the bar in 2007. In 2019, Aaju Peter was a guest of the

Université du Québec à Montréal The (UQAM; ), is a French language, French-language public university, public research university based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest constituent element of the system. UQAM was founded on April 9, 1969, by the government o ...

, and a video was produced about her visit. She has appeared in the documentary films ''Arctic Defenders'' (2013) and ''

Angry Inuk ''Angry Inuk'' is a 2016 Canadian Inuit-themed feature-length documentary film written and directed by Alethea Arnaquq-Baril that defends the Inuit seal hunt, as the hunt is a vital means for Inuit to sustain themselves. Subjects in ''Angry Inuk' ...

'' (2016). She was also profiled in the 2023 documentary film ''

Twice Colonized ''Twice Colonized'' is a documentary film, directed by Lin Alluna and released in 2023.Guy Lodge"'Twice Colonized' Review: An Indigenous Activist Defends Her People's Rights While Tending to Personal Wounds" ''Variety (magazine), Variety'', April ...

''.Guy Lodge
"‘Twice Colonized’ Review: An Indigenous Activist Defends Her People’s Rights While Tending to Personal Wounds"
''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', April 27, 2023.

References

External links

''The Frontline of Climate Change''
''The Walrus''
2014-2018 Sedna expedition biography
1960 births Living people 21st-century Canadian lawyers 21st-century Canadian women lawyers 21st-century Greenlandic people 21st-century Inuit people 21st-century Inuit women Seal hunting Members of the Order of Canada Inuit activists Greenlandic Inuit women Greenlandic emigrants to Canada Canadian fashion designers Inuit fashion designers Inuit from the Northwest Territories Inuit from Nunavut Lawyers in Nunavut People from Iqaluit Canadian women fashion designers Canadian Inuit women artists {{NorthAm-native-bio-stub