Kelly Fraser (August 8, 1993 – December 24, 2019) was a Canadian Inuk pop singer and songwriter, whose second album, ''Sedna'', received a

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall o ...

nomination for Indigenous Music Album of the Year at the

Juno Awards of 2018 The Juno Awards of 2018, honouring Canadian music achievements, were presented in Vancouver, British Columbia during the weekend of 24–25 March 2018. The primary telecast ceremonies were held at Rogers Arena. Vancouver previously hosted the Jun ...

Life and career

Born in

Igloolik Igloolik ( Inuktitut syllabics: , ''Iglulik'', ) is an Inuit hamlet in Foxe Basin, Qikiqtaaluk Region in Nunavut, northern Canada. Because its location on Igloolik Island is close to Melville Peninsula, it is often mistakenly thought to be on ...

, Fraser moved with her family at a young age to

Sanikiluaq Sanikiluaq ( iu, ᓴᓂᑭᓗᐊᖅ ) is a municipality and Inuit community located on the north coast of Flaherty Island in Hudson Bay, on the Belcher Islands. Despite being geographically much closer to the shores of Ontario and Quebec, the ...

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the '' Nunavut Act'' and the '' Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act'' ...

. She was educated at

Nunavut Sivuniksavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the '' Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act'', w ...

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

before completing an indigenous studies program at the

Nicola Valley Institute of Technology Nicola Valley Institute of Technology (NVIT) is British Columbia's Aboriginal public post-secondary institute in Merritt, British Columbia, Canada. It started in 1983. History NVIT is British Columbia's Aboriginal public post-secondary institu ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

. Nunavut Sivuniksavut launched in 1985 and is Canada's oldest and first Inuit post-secondary programme, where Inuit youth learn about the

Nunavut Land Claims Agreement The Nunavut Land Claim Agreement (french: L'Accord sur les revendications territoriales du Nunavut) was signed on May 25, 1993, in Iqaluit, by representatives of the Tunngavik Federation of Nunavut (now Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated), the Governme ...

. Fraser first attracted widespread attention in 2013 with a series of

Inuktitut Inuktitut (; , syllabics ; from , "person" + , "like", "in the manner of"), also Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, is one of the principal Inuit languages of Canada. It is spoken in all areas north of the tree line, including parts of the provinces o ...

-language covers of pop songs, most notably

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to t ...

's "

Diamonds Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, ...

", on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

. She released her debut album, ''Isuma'', in 2014. Her songs include Inuktitut and English language, and musically, combine contemporary pop with traditional Inuit sounds. Fraser was dedicated to sharing Inuit culture with a widespread audience and raising awareness of present-day issues and Inuit rights; many of these themes feature heavily in her music. Her producer reported that she was working on another album, to be called ''Decolonize'', when she died; crowdfunding for the album was underway at that time. Fraser died at her home in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Win ...

, on December 24, 2019, by suicide. According to her family she had suffered through "childhood traumas,

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

and persistent

cyberbullying Cyberbullying or cyberharassment is a form of bullying or harassment using electronic means. Cyberbullying and cyberharassment are also known as online bullying. It has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers, as the digital ...

". Several candlelight vigils in her honor were held at The Forks on January 4 and at the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology in Merritt, BC.

Discography

''Isuma''

Fraser's first album, released in June 2014, was recorded with her bandmates from Sanikiluaq, with seven original and three cover songs. The title means 'think'.

''Sedna''

''Sedna ''was released on February 25, 2017, by

's Hitmakerz record label. The title of the album, known as ᓄᓕᐊᔪᒃ (''Nuliaju'') in

, refers to the story of Sedna, the Inuit goddess of the sea, which Fraser decided to modernize in this album. She said, "The goal of the album is to help heal those suffering from the effects of colonization, including the damaging effects of residential school and

forced relocation Forced displacement (also forced migration) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of persecution, conflict, g ...

. There is a great need for Inuit artists to directly speak to those affected from the past." The album included the song 'Fight for the Right', released as part of the 'no' campaign in the 2016 Nunavut municipal land referendum, which asked voters whether they were willing to allow the municipality to sell municipal lands.Michele LeTourneau,
Sanikiluaq singer releases second album
, ''Nunavut News'' (6 May 2017).

References

External links

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Family statement
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Kelly 1993 births 2019 deaths Canadian women pop singers Inuit musicians Canadian Inuit women Musicians from Nunavut Inuit from the Northwest Territories Inuit from Nunavut 21st-century Canadian women singers People from Igloolik People from Sanikiluaq 2019 suicides Suicides in Manitoba Female suicides