poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
, writer, and musician from
Rankin Inlet
Rankin Inlet, which fronts to Hudson Bay, is an Inuit hamlet on the Kudlulik Peninsula in Nunavut, Canada. It is the largest hamlet and second-largest settlement in Nunavut after the territorial capital, Iqaluit. Rankin Inlet is the regional c ...
,
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 ...
. Her work is under the artist name Ivaluarjuk, and blends
Celtic music
Celtic music is a broad grouping of music genres that evolved out of the folk music traditions of the Celts (modern), Celtic people of Northwestern Europe (the modern Celtic nations). It refers to both orally-transmitted traditional music and ...
and
fiddle
A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...
Her 2015 album, ''Icelines and Sealskin'', is an exploration of Irish and Inuk music traditions. It has 11 tracks and runs for 42 min 25 sec. She primarily uses
spoken word
Spoken word is an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a 20th-century continuation of an oral tradition, ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetic ...
and throat singing. In her fundraising campaign, she said it would cost almost $30,000 to record an album almost entirely in Nunavut. She has collaborated or performed with multiple artists, including
The Jerry Cans
The Jerry Cans (, ''Pai Gaalaqautikkut'') are a band from Iqaluit, Nunavut who combine traditional Inuit throat singing with folk music and country rock. Their music is largely written in Inuktitut, the indigenous language of the Inuit, with ly ...
, Ptarmigan,
Riit
Riit (ᕇᑦ) is the stage name of Rita Claire Mike-Murphy, a Canadian Inuk musician and television personality from Pangnirtung, Nunavut who is most noted as the host of APTN's children's series '' Anaana's Tent''.
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 ...
,
Susan Aglukark
Susan Aglukark, ( Inuktitut syllabics: ᓲᓴᓐ ᐊᒡᓘᒃᑲᖅ ''suusan agluukkaq''; born 27 January 1967) is a Canadian singer whose blend of Inuit folk music traditions with country and pop songwriting has made her a major recording st ...
,
DJ Spooky
Paul Dennis Miller (born September 6, 1970), known professionally as DJ Spooky, That Subliminal Kid, is an American Electronic music, electronic and experimental hip hop musician whose work is often called by critics "illbient" or "trip hop". ...
, The Crooked Brothers,
Owen Pallett
Michael James Owen Pallett-Plowright (born September 7, 1979), known professionally as Owen Pallett, is a Canadian composer, violinist, keyboardist, and vocalist. Under their former pseudonym Final Fantasy, Pallett won the 2006 Polaris Music P ...
, Mike Stevens, and the NAC Orchestra, among others. She has given throat singing workshops since 2008.
She is part of the duo Iva and Angu with Charlotte Qamaniq. They won a 2024
Pan-Arcticvision
Pan-ArcticVision is an international social and cultural event that describes itself as "a Eurovision for the Arctic". Pan-ArcticVision has live musical contributions from the circumpolar North (the Arctic), and arranges televotes among the publi ...
qualifying event at the Alianait Arts Festival in
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 ...
. In 2022, they released the album ''Katajjausiit'' , and received a
Juno Award
The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...
CBC Music
CBC Music (formerly known as CBC FM, CBC Stereo and CBC Radio 2) is a Canadian FM radio network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It used to concentrate on classical and jazz. In 2007 and 2008, the network transitioned towards a ...
, January 31, 2023.
Personal life
Her mother is Inuk from Nunavut and father is Irish from
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
. Accepting both cultures was a major struggle for her. At some points she did not identify as Inuk, and once did not visit her
Cape Breton
Cape Breton Island (, formerly '; or '; ) is a rugged and irregularly shaped island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada.
The island accounts for 18.7% of Nova Scotia's total area. Although ...
family for eight years.
Childhood
As a child, Merritt watched Inuuk women perform throat singing at a local talent show and tried throat singing, but did not pick up interest until her 20s. Growing up, she struggled with her identity, not feeling that her Irish or Inuit identities were strong enough to fully identify with either group. One of her earliest memories is of a young girl at a playground telling her she was not Inuk enough.