1
1909Révillon Frères, a trading company, opens.
1920
The Hudson's Bay Company opens.
1927
St. Thomas Anglican Mission opens.
1936
Hudson's Bay Company buys Révillon Frères.
1947
The nursing station opens.
1948
James Houston visits Inukjuak, returning to Montreal with small carvings he purchased while there (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 5, no. 4:24).
In November, Houston asks the Canadian Handicrafts Guild's Indian and Eskimo Committee for assistance to return to Inukjuak to help encourage handicraft work among the Inuit. The Guild agrees, granting Houston $1,100 to purchase craft items, including carvings (The Inuit Artists of Inoucdjouac, P.Q.: Historical and Biographical Information for the Viewers and Collectors of Eskimo Art, by Barry Roberts, published by La Fédération Coopératives du Nouveau-Québec with the cooperation of the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, 1978, p. 22).
1949
Houston's first Inukjuak purchases are put on sale at the Canadian Handicrafts Guild in Montreal. Much of the work sells out in three days (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 5, no. 4:24, and in The Inuit Artists of Inoucdjouac, by Barry Roberts, 1978, pp. 27-28).
1950
A federal school opens (ibid., p. 28). Frank Lowe refers to carver Akeeaktashuk as an "Arctic Angelo" in an article published in the Montreal Daily Star. That same year, James Houston selects one of his sculptures of an Inuit hunter to be the highlight in a display of carvings that he was preparing to send to New York. However, before this can happen, the carving is accidentally sold in Montreal (noted in The First Passionate Collector, published by the Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1990, p. 85).
1953
Some Inuit from Inukjuak are relocated to Resolute Bay and farther north, where there is supposed to be better hunting (noted in The Long Exile, by Melanie McGrath, published by Alfred A. Knopf, 2007, p. 107).
Akeeaktashuk's work is shown in the Coronation Exhibition at Gimpel Fils Gallery in London, England (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 5, no. 4:24).
1964
Community Hall is erected (The Inuit Artists of Inoucdjouac, p. 33).
1967
La Fédération Coopératives du Nouveau-Québec, based in Montreal, is incorporated as the wholesale marketing agency for arts and crafts from Inuit cooperatives in Nunavik (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ] vol. 5, no. 4:35, and in "In the Wake of the Giant" in Port Harisson/Inoucdjouac, by Marybelle Myers, published by the Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1978, p. 20).
October 14: The Inoucdjouac Co-operative Association is established in (ibid., p. 15, and noted in Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 13, no. 3:14).
The Toronto-Dominion Bank assembles a collection "of outstanding work by Eskimo artists" and organizes a travelling exhibition. A catalogue for the exhibition, published at a later date (1978), lists works by Inukjuak artists, including Silassie Tuki, Isa Smiler, Johnny Inukpuk, Oshaweetuk, Conlucy Niviaxie, Samoella, Samson Sala, Abraham Pov, Joanassie Oomayoualook, Samson Kingalik, Daniel Inukpuk, Teeter, Simon Kasudluak, Conlucy Nastapoka, and Lucassie Echalook (noted in The Eskimo Art Collection of the Toronto-Dominion Bank, 1978).
The autumn issue of Beaver Magazine features two works by Isa Smiler: a watercolour painting and a sculpture entitled Hunter. Several sculptures by Inukjuak artists are featured in an article entitled "A Retrospective Glance at Canadian Eskimo Carving," including Eskimo Woman and Untitled (Owls) by unknown artists, and Mother Feeding Child by Johnny Inukpuk.
1971
Sculpture/Inuit, organized by the Canadian Eskimo Arts Council, begins an international tour, which includes Vancouver, Paris, Copenhagen, London, Moscow, Leningrad, Philadelphia, and Ottawa (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 5, no. 4:25). The show contains sculpture by 18 Inukjuak artists, including Akeeaktashuk, Elijassiapik, Johnny Inukpuk, Abraham Nastapoka, Abraham Pov, and Sarollie Weetaluktuk.
1972
The first printmaking workshop is held in Inukjuak under the guidance of Thomassie and Noah Echalook. The two artists had participated in an earlier La Fédération Coopératives du Nouveau-Québec-organized workshop in Puvirnituq. Upon their return home they transformed an abandoned portable classroom into a print shop (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 13, no. 3:12, and in "In the Wake of the Giant," in Port Harisson/Inoucdjouac, p. 18).
1974
Inukjuak dollmakers are encouraged to produce Inujait (action dolls) by La Fédération Coopératives du Nouveau-Québec.
1975
A two-storey co-op store is constructed.
1977
Port Harrison/Inoucdjouac opens at the Winnipeg Art Gallery as the first in a series of exhibitions focussed on the art of a specific community (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 5, no. 4:102). The show runs from November 20, 1976 to January 23, 1977.
1978
Johnny Inukpuk is elected as a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Artists (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 5, no. 3:52).
In November, the cooperative-owned Inukjuak hotel opens.
1979
Building an Igloo, a print by Abraham Pov, is reproduced on a 17 cent Canadian stamp.
1980
Things Made by Inuit, a catalogued exhibition organized by La Fédération Coopératives du Nouveau-Québec opens in Ottawa. After touring Nunavik communities, a modified version of the exhibition is circulated abroad (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 1, no. 1:10).
1981
Avataq Cultural Institute is incorporated as a non-profit organization to preserve and promote Inuit language and culture in Nunavik. Its head office is located in Inukjuak, with a branch office in Montreal (noted on Avataq's website www.avataq.qc.ca).
1984
Carver Jimmy Arnamissak travels to Tokyo, Japan to participate in Inuit Art from Arctic Quebec, an exhibition sponsored by La Fédération Coopératives du Nouveau-Québec and held at the Canadian Trade Centre.
1986
March 20: The Toronto Dominion Gallery of Inuit Art is officially opened by then Director of the National Gallery of Canada, Joseph Martin. This is a permanent gallery located in the lobby and mezzanine areas of the IBM Tower in Toronto (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 1, no. 1:13). Mother and Child, a large sculpture by Johnny Inukpuk, is placed at the entrance of the gallery (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 1, no. 2:8). Inukpuk's sculpture was loaned to the National Gallery of Canada for ItuKaiagatta! Inuit Sculpture from the Collection of the TD Bank Finanacial Group, which ran from March 23 to June 5, 2005.
May 6 -June 6: Early Inukjuak carvings, from 1948 to 1951, are shown in The Spirit of the Land, an exhibition held at the Koffler Gallery in Toronto (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 1, no.2:8).
May 17 - October 19: Heads & Masks: Selections from the Inuit Collection, an exhibition held at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, includes a carving of a head by Abraham Nastapoka (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 1, no. 3:11).
In August, Jimmy Arnamissak travels to Kenya on an exchange arranged by the Faculty of Education at McGill University in Montreal (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol.1, no. 3:14).
1987
March: A delegation from the Faculty of Education at McGill University, including sculptor Elkana Ong'Esa from the Kisii tribe in Kenya, travels to Inukjuak, returning the visit made to Kenya by Jimmy Arnamissak the previous year (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 2, no. 2:17).
September: Things Made by Inuit travels to Novossibirsk, Siberia. Mary Craig, Fine Art Director of La Fédération Coopératives du Nouveau-Québec, and Inukjuak artist Johnny Akuliak and his wife Lily travel to Siberia for the three-week exhibition (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 2, no. 4:16).
June: Spirit of the Land, an exhibition held at the Art Gallery of York University, includes work by Isa Smiler, Noah Nowrakudluk, Johnny Inukpuk, Lucassie Kumarluk, Isa Smiler, Eli Weetaluktuk, and Simeonie Weetaluktuk (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 2, no. 4:6-9).
May 30 - July 26: Grasp Tight the Old Ways: Selections from the Klamer Family Collection is held at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 2, no. 4:12). The exhibition features sculpture by Elijassiapik, Abraham Nastapoka, Nayomealook, Joe Adlikit Aculiak, Josie Nowra, and Joanassie Oomayoualook.
September 13 - November 8: The Swinton Collection of Inuit Art, an exhibition held at the Winnipeg Art Gallery includes work by Akeeaktashuk (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 3, no. 1:19-20).
1988
December 7: Things Made by Inuit is opened by Paulosie Kasadluak, President of La Fédération Coopératives du Nouveau-Québec, and Lise Bacon, Minister of Cultural Affairs for the Quebec government, in Paris at Le Musée de l'Homme (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 4, no. 2:39).
December 9: Inukjuak resident and President of La Fédération Coopératives du Nouveau-Québec Paulosie Kasadluak attends the opening of the exhibition In the Shadow of the Sun in Dortmund, Germany (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 4, no. 1:36).
1989
Mother and Child, by Syollie Weetaluktuk, appears on the cover of the fall issue of Inuit Art Quarterly (IAQ).
The Canadian Museum of Civilization (CMC) re-opens in a new building. The CMC collection includes 132 works from Inukjuak (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 4, no. 4:4-8).
1990
Mother Nursing Child, by Johnny Inukpuk, appears on the cover of the summer issue of Inuit Art Quarterly (IAQ).
June 30 - November 12: The First Passionate Collector: The Ian Lindsay Collection, an exhibition organized by the Winnipeg Art Gallery features several Inukjuak sculptures from the early years, including works by Akeeaktashuk, Thomassie Echalook, Conlucy Niviaxie, Timothy Kutchaka, Samwillie Amidlak, Koonie, and Abraham Pov.
Thomassie Echalook participates in the Artists Speak session organized by the Native Art Studies Association of Canada at its 1990 conference at L'Université de Montréal (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 6, no. 2:51).
1991
July: Work by Johnny Inukpuk is included in an exhibition at the University of Stirling in Scotland. Organized by Avataq Cultural Institute, the exhibition also includes 12 panels of historical photographs taken by Robert J. Flaherty in Inukjuak in 1920 (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 6, no. 4:39).
1992
February 1 - August 23: Inukjuak sculptures are shown in the Winnipeg Art Gallery exhibition Inuit Art on the Mezzanine - New Acquisitions (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 7, no. 4:25).
May 9 - August 30: Woman Battling Polar Bear by Jimmy Arnamissak is included in an exhibition at the Winnipeg Art Gallery entitled The Hudson's Bay Company Collection of Inuit Art (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 7, no. 4:29).
April 2: The Daniel Weetaluktuk Museum and Cultural Transmission Centre opens in Inukjuak. The museum is funded by the Ministère des Affaires culturelles, which provided $150,000 and Makivik Corporation, which provided $50,000. Avataq Cultural Institute, under the direction of Mary Palliser, was also instrumental in the construction of this igloo-shaped building (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 7, no. 4:51).
1993
December: Things Made by Inuit opens in France at the Contemporary and Ancient Art Museum in Épinal. Mary and Nellie Echalook of Inukjuak give a throatsinging demonstration at the opening. The exhibition is organized by the Vosges District General Council in collaboration with La Fédération Coopératives du Nouveau-Québec and the Québec Ministry of Culture (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 9, no. 3:46).
1994
March 18 - September 11: Carvings by Inukjuak artists Noah Echalook and Charlie Inukpuk are among the works featured in the exhibition Inuit Art: A Regional Perspective, held at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 9, no. 3:32-35, and on the National Gallery of Canada's website: www.gallery.ca).
1995
November 18 - January 6, 1996: Johnny Inukpuk is included in the exhibition Inspiration: Four Decades of Sculpture by Canadian Inuit at the Marion Scott Gallery in Vancouver, British Columbia. The exhibition is held in celebration of the gallery's 20th anniversary (noted on Marion Scott Gallery's website: marionscottgallery.com).
1996
June: Inukjuak dollmaker Elisapie Inukpuk travels to Ottawa to participate in Qaigit '96: The Great Inuit Art Fair and Symposium organized by the Inuit Art Foundation. The public event is an opportunity for artists to interact and to connect with researchers, curators, and collectors of Inuit art (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 11, no. 4:42-44).
June 5: Mother and Child, an Inukjuak carving by an unknown artist, sells for $19,800 at Waddington's Auction in Toronto. The carving, expected to fetch between $10,000 and $15,000, realized the highest overall bid for that auction (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 11, no. 4:45).
Mary and Nellie Echalook of Inukjuak are invited to perform at the Wales International Storytelling Festival. More than 2,000 people attend one of their performances (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 12, no. 1:55). Dave Ambrose, Director of Beyond the Border: Wales International Storytelling Festival, recalls that there was no written synopsis of the event, "just great memories of Mary and Nellie performing throatsinging games in which they evoked the sounds of the tundra - ice cracking, ice being sawn for fishing holes, wild geese flying overhead - while grasping each other by the shoulders and making sounds until one of them gave up and fell about laughing. This was received with wonder and rapturous applause by our audience, who were reasonably familiar with oral traditions from Western Europe, but had never witnessed anything quite like this" (personal communication with Dave Ambrose, March 18, 2009).
July 4 - 18: Four Inukjuak women take part in an international folk festival in Europe. Minnie Palliser, Rebecca Naturaluk, Sarah Sivuarapik, and Phoebe Atagotaluk travel to Finland, Norway, and Sweden for the Falun Folkmusik Festival (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 12, no. 1:55).
1997
April 4 - May 7: The Canadian Guild of Crafts in Montreal includes work by Daniel Inukpuk in its exhibition Inuit Prints and Drawings 1961-1990 (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 12, no. 3:47).
May: Inukjuak dollmaker Elisapie Inukpuk is elected to the board of the Inuit Art Foundation in Ottawa (ibid., p. 35).
May: The Art Gallery of Ontario acquires a gift of 740 Inuit sculptures from the collection of Samuel and Esther Sarick. Forty-one works are from Inukjuak, including work by Jimmy Arnamissak (ibid., p. 44).
May: The Inuit Art Foundation awards a group of women artists in Inukjuak a $2,000 grant to purchase an oil heater, canvas, and plywood for a sealskin tent, which will provide them with a place to work. Kativik Regional Development Council contributes $6,120 to hire two people to construct the tent, which is completed in time for National Aboriginal Day, June 21, 2006 (noted in Ukiaksaaq: Automne, published by Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, 2006, p. 8).
May: The String Game, a carving by Noah Echalook, is featured on the cover of the winter issue of Inuit Art Quarterly (IAQ).
May 10: Elisapie Inukpuk demonstrates dollmaking at Qaggiq '97: A Celebration of Inuit Art and Culture at the Inuit Art Foundation in Ottawa (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 12, no. 3:37).
June 4: A carving by Johnny Inukpuk made in the mid-1960s sells for $18,700 at Waddington's auction in Toronto (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 12, no. 4:40).
October 20 - November 2: Elisapie Inukpuk travels to Ottawa to take part in the two-week Pan-Arctic Women's Workshop, organized by the Inuit Art Foundation, and held at the Ottawa School of Art (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 17, no. 4:34).
November: Inukjuak residents Alicie Napartuk and Simeonie Weetaluktuk are chosen to represent the community's elders on a newly formed museum committee that will determine the programs of Inukjuak's Daniel Weetaluktuk Museum. Selected members of the local municipal council and the education and youth committees also serve on the museum committee (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 13, no. 1:51).
November 8-28: Feheley Fine Arts in Toronto exhibits Windows of the Soul: Faces, Personifications, Masks in Inuit Sculpture. Carvings by Johnny Inukpuk are among the works included (ibid., p. 57).
1998
February: Staff of the Inuit Art Foundation travel to Inukjuak for the first phase of a project to address stone quarrying issues. They meet with artists to develop plans that can be implemented locally (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 13, no. 2:51). With help from the local municipality, Inukjuak carvers are able to use dynamite to clear boulders obstructing the quarry. The municipality provides a pump to remove water from the quarry floor (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 14, no. 1:53-54).
Ten Women Sewing Skins on Umiak, a carving by Charlie Inukpuk, is featured on the cover of the fall issue of Inuit Art Quarterly (IAQ).
October 3-4: Inukjuak artists Johnny Aculiak and Thomassie Echalook participate in carving demonstrations at the fall Qaggiq, organized by the Inuit Art Foundation in Ottawa (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol.13, no. 4:43).
October 30 - March 21, 1999: Recent Acquisitions opens at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. Work by Johnny Inukpuk is included (ibid., p. 49).
Johnny Aculiak participates in a fall Nunavik Carvers Symposium held in Ottawa (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 14, no. 1:52).
November 16-17: At Waddington's auction in Toronto, a mother and child carving by Johnny Inukpuk fetches $25,000, one of the highest bids received (ibid., p. 57).
1999
April 1- January 2000: Iqqaipaa: Celebrating Inuit Art 1948-1970, co-curated by James Houston and Maria von Finckenstein, opens at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 14, no. 3:37). The exhibition includes the original caribou sculpture by Nayoumealuk given to Houston in Inukjuak. Celebrating Inuit Art, a catalogue published in conjunction with the Iqqaipaa exhibition, includes an essay written by Houston entitled, "Fifty Years of Thinking it Over" (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 15, no. 3:42-43).
2000
The Green Soapstone Inukjuak Committee receives a $5,000 grant from the Inuit Art Foundation to fund an expedition to acquire stone from a local quarry to be made available to the whole community (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 15, no. 4:50).
To revitalize printmaking in northern Quebec, the Inuit Art Foundation organizes a three-week long workshop for Nunavik artists in Cape Dorset. Elijah Palliser, a stone carver from Inukjuak, is one of the participants (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ] vol. 16, no. 1:4-16).
2001
The Governor General of Canada, Adrienne Clarkson, tours Nunavik communities, including Inukjuak. It is the first time since 1956 that a Governor General has visited Nunavik (noted in Nunatsiaq News, June 24, 2005).
June 8 - October 14: Tumivut: Traces of Our Footsteps, an exhibition of Inuit artfrom Nunavik, organized by Avataq Cultural Institute, is held at the former Royal Bank head office in Montreal, Quebec. The community of Inukjuak is featured prominently, with sculpture by such carvers as Noah Echalook and Charlie Inukpuk (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 17, no. 1:38-39).
2003
Inukjuak resident, Rhoda Kokiapik, is appointed a trustee of the National Gallery of Canada (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 18, no. 3:56, and the National Gallery of Canada's Annual Report: 2003-04).
Photographer Amélie Breton from Laval University spends the summer months in Inukjuak giving cameras to elders and encouraging them to take pictures of their community as they see it. The colour photographs were then displayed in an igloo next to her own black and white photos, in order to make a distinction between her status as an outsider and those living in the community (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 19, no. 2:38, and Nunatsiaq News, February 13, 2004).
2004
Isa Aupalukta, from Inukjuak, is included in an exhibition entitled Box of Sedna - Shamans and Folktales under Aurorae at the Hokkaido Museum of Northern Peoples, Hokkaido, Japan (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 19, no. 1:4).
Andrew Nulukie, who had previously participated in a Makivik Jewellery Workshop in Salluit, proposes the creation of the Inukjuak Jewellery Workshop Project.
2005
Andrew Nulukie and Noah Echalook are awarded first and second prize respectively in the Nunavik carving contest sponsored by La Fédération Coopératives du Nouveau-Québec. Eli Elijassiapik, also of Inukjuak, won a popular choice award (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 20, no. 3:39).
A carving by Akeeaktashuk (Isa Paddy Aqiattusuk) is acquired by the National Gallery of Canada in conjunction with the opening of the exhibition ItuKiagiagâtta! (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 20, no. 4:36).
April: Tommy Palliser, Business Services Advisor for the Kativik Regional Government presents a proposal for the Inukjuak Jewellery Project to Katavik Regional Government's Research and Economic Development Department. The project is put on hold due to lack of local expertise in setting up a professional jewellery-making studio.
2006
Elisapie Inukpuk, Minnie Amidlak, and Lizzie Palliser are invited to the Inuit Circumpolar Conference's General Assembly in Barrow, Alaska (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 21, no. 4:37).
2007
The Inuit Art Foundation launches Cultural Industries Certification Program, a similar, but much abbreviated program of the previous Cultural Industries Training Program. The new program gives the first participants - mostly from Nunavik - an opportunity to meet key players in the Inuit art world. Tommy Palliser, Joanasie Elijasiapik, Andrew Nulukie, and Siasi Smiler were among the Nunavik participants from Inukjuak.
2008
The film Umiaq Skin Boat directed by Jobie Weetaluktuk premiers at Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival in Toronto. It chronicles a group of Inukjuak elders as they build a skin boat, the first one made in their community in 50 years (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 23, no. 2:38, and on www.catbirdproductions.ca).
The Orchestre symphonique de Montréal tours Nunavik, stopping in Inukjuak (Inuit Art Quarterly [IAQ], vol. 23, no. 4:40, and in a September press release issued by Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and Avataq).
The Inuit Art Foundation receives a grant from the Canadian Heritage Information Network to construct a website focussing on the art-history of Inukjuak as part of the Community Memories section of the Virtual Museums of Canada.
Kativik Regional Government hires Catherine Bechard as a consultant for the Inukjuak Jewellery Project. Under her direction, a building is renovated by students from the Kativik School Board Pigiursavik Adult Education Faculty.
2009
Aumaaggiivik Nunavik Arts Secretariat, a new department at Avataq Cultural Institute to support and nurture artists, launches the Inukjuak Jewellery Project. The pilot project will provide instruction on aesthetic, technical, and cultural aspects of high-end jewellery-making. Instructor Linda Brown will work with artists Joansie Elijassiapik, Andrew Nulukie, Laina Nulukie, Eva Lucy Inukpuk, Inuksiak Arnamissiak, Elijah Tukai, Jeffery Kasudluak, and Clara Kasudluak.
2009
Inukjuak Art History goes live: http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/English/CommunityMemories/index.html.
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