Becky Han 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 ...

Canadian singer and songwriter, noted for composing original acoustic music in

Inuktitut Inuktitut ( ; , Inuktitut syllabics, syllabics ), also known as Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, is one of the principal Inuit languages of Canada. It is spoken in all areas north of the North American tree line, including parts of the provinces of ...

Life and career

Han is originally from

Arctic Bay Arctic Bay (Inuktitut syllabics: ᐃᒃᐱᐊᕐᔪᒃ, ''Ikpiarjuk'', "the pocket") is an Inuit hamlet located in the northern part of the Borden Peninsula on Baffin Island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. Arctic Bay is located in ...

Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...

. She first posted videos online as a way to continue sharing her music with her parents after she moved from Nunavut to

Brandon, Manitoba Brandon () is the second-largest city in the province of Manitoba, Canada. It is located in the southwestern corner of the province on the banks of the Assiniboine River, approximately west of the provincial capital, Winnipeg, and east of the ...

, which led to a substantial online following. Han has discussed two motivations for writing and sharing original music in her native language of Inuktitut: to help keep the language alive, and to feel closer to the community she grew up in. Han has built her music career while also working as a stay-at-home mother. Han won both first and second place in the Nunavut Department of Culture and Heritage's 2016 Qilaut Inuktut children's songwriting contest. One of her songs, "786", won first place, and another of her songs, "Qaariaq", won second place; both songs were co-written with her sister, Tracy May. Han and May's song "6-muaqpat" won second place in the 2019 Qilaut contest, and their song "Piqannarijaq" won fifth place that year. Han had previously placed eighth in the 2015 contest with a song that she co-wrote with Melissa Reid. In March 2017, Han opened for

Tanya Tagaq Tanya Tagaq ( Inuktitut syllabics: ᑕᓐᔭ ᑕᒐᖅ, born Tanya Tagaq Gillis, May 5, 1975), also credited as Tagaq, is a Canadian Inuk throat singer, songwriter, novelist, actor, and visual artist from Cambridge Bay (Iqaluktuuttiaq), Nun ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

during Tagaq's tour. In a 2017

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

broadcast in which Tagaq played an hour of her favourite music, she included Han's single "Guutiga" among the 15 tracks she selected. Also in 2017, Han's single "786" was featured by Up Here Magazine in a Nunavut Music Week list of Inuktitut music. In 2018, Han won first place in the Qikiqtani Inuit Association's contest for the best original song or poem in Inuktitut. The title of Han's winning entry was "Nagligigakkit" (which translates to "because I love you"). She placed third in the 2019 QIA contest. In 2021, Han published ''The Bee'', a picture book based on her award-winning song "Qaariaq".

Selected awards

* 2nd place, Qilaut Inuktut songwriting contest, Government of Nunavut (2019) * 3rd place, Inuktitut song/poem contest, Qikiqtani Inuit Association (2019) * 1st place, Inuktitut song/poem contest, Qikiqtani Inuit Association (2018) * 1st and 2nd place, Qilaut Inuktut songwriting contest, Government of Nunavut (2016)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Han, Becky Date of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century Canadian women singers 21st-century Inuit people 21st-century Inuit women Canadian women folk singers Canadian folk singers Canadian Inuit women Inuit from Nunavut Inuit musicians Singers from Nunavut People from Arctic Bay Year of birth missing (living people)