1

Minnie Palliser
n.d.



Credits:
Photo: Avataq Cultural Institute

2

Minnie Palliser [1928-2003]


Her Story
Although Minnie Palliser experimented briefly with making baskets and dolls, she was chiefly known for her soapstone carvings. She began carving around 1948, with encouragement from James Houston. Mother and grandmother to a large family, she usually chose to depict domestic scenes involving parents and children. She preferred to do the finishing work on her small-scale, rounded carvings while babysitting her many grandchildren. Perhaps best known for her technique of using tiny nail pricks to simulate fur trim on clothing, Palliser's work has been featured in numerous exhibitions and is included in the collection of the Eskimo Museum in Churchill, Manitoba. In addition to carving, Palliser was skilled at making parkas, boots, and other clothing items. She was also a highly acclaimed throatsinger, performing at venues in Canada and around the world, including Alaska, Paris, and Norway.

Several of her children have been involved in movements to advance the well-being of Inuit. Palliser, herself, frequently represented her community at the annual Nuanvik Inuit Elders Conferences organized by Avataq Cultural Institute. Along with the other delegates, she struggled to retain and revitalize aspects of Inuit culture in danger of passing away with the older generation. Together, they sought to establish genealogies, define and preserve Inuktitut words, including family and place names, and recall techniques for hunting, cooking, making clothes, and practising medicine. She was also a midwife.



References
From an obituary published in Inuit Art Quarterly (IAQ), vol. 18, no. 3 (fall 2003):58.

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"Winter Fishing Camp" by Minnie Palliser
1976
Inukjuak, Quebec, Canada


Credits:
Photo: Lawrence Cook

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"Woman with Her Worm Child" by Minnie Palliser
1978
Inukjuak, Quebec, Canada


Credits:
Photo: Michael Neill

5

"Mother and Child" by Minnie Palliser
1987
Inukjuak, Quebec, Canada


Credits:
La Fédération Coopératives du Nouveau-Québec
Photo: Bernard Murdoch

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"Crouching Woman" by Minnie Palliser
2002
Inukjuak, Quebec, Canada


Credits:
La Fédération Coopératives du Nouveau-Québec
Photo: Bernard Murdoch