Luke Anowtalik (1932 - 2006) was 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 ...

artist based in

Arviat Arviat (, Inuktitut syllabics, syllabics: ᐊᕐᕕᐊᑦ; formerly called Eskimo Point until 1 June 1989) is a predominantly Inuit Hamlet (place)#Canada, hamlet located on the western shore of Hudson Bay in the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut, Canada ...

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 ...

. His work is included in the collections of the

Winnipeg Art Gallery The Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG) is an art museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Its permanent collection includes over 24,000 works from Canadian, Indigenous Canadian, and international artists. The museum also holds the world's largest collect ...

, and

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's National museums of Canada, national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the List of large ...

Biography

Anowtalik was born near

Ennadai Lake Ennadai Lake is a lake in the Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is long, and wide. It is drained to the north by the Kazan River. A section of the Kazan River from the outlet of Ennadai Lake to Baker Lake, was designated as a part of the ...

, Nunavut in 1932. After he and his younger sister Kunee (Rita) lost their parents to starvation, they were relocated to

Churchill, Manitoba Churchill is a subarctic port town in northern Manitoba, Canada, on the west shore of Hudson Bay, roughly from the Manitoba–Nunavut border. It is most famous for the many polar bears that move toward the shore from inland in the autumn, leadi ...

trapper Animal trapping, or simply trapping or ginning, is the use of a device to remotely catch and often kill an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including for meat, fur/feathers, sport hunting, pest control, and wildlife man ...

Charlie Schweder. Luke and Rita's story is shared in the book ''No Man's River'' by

Farley Mowat Farley McGill Mowat, (May 12, 1921 – May 6, 2014) was a Canadian writer and environmentalist. His works were translated into 52 languages, and he sold more than 17 million books. He achieved fame with the publication of his books on the Ca ...

. Two years after the relocation, Anowtalik trekked by dogsled by himself back to Ennadai Lake where he was rescued by the family of Andy Aulatjut. Anowtalik married Aulajut's daughter Mary Ayaq Anowtalik and the two were featured on the cover of Life Magazine's February 27th, 1956 issue with one of their children. Anowtalik and his family were forcibly displaced by the

Canadian government The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes ministers of the Crown ( ...

Nueltin Lake Nueltin Lake ( Chipewyan: , meaning "sleeping island lake") straddles the Manitoba—Nunavut border in Canada. The lake, which has an area of , is predominantly in Nunavut's Kivalliq Region, and on the Manitoba side there is the Nueltin Lake Ai ...

in May of 1950, to Hennik Lake in 1957, and later to Arviat in 1959. He began carving in 1962 when the arts movement began in Arviat. Anowtalik frequently collaborated on sculptures with his wife.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anowtalik, Luke Inuit sculptors 1932 births 2006 deaths 20th-century Inuit artists Canadian Inuit artists Inuit from Nunavut People from Arviat