Tutanuak, Sam

Websites:  No
Origin: Baker Lake - Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, 🇨🇦
Biography:

Sam Tutanuak is a singer-songwriter, mental health advocate, and community leader whose life and music reflect the resilience and healing power of Inuit culture. Born in Baker Lake and raised in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, Tutanuak has long used music to express both personal and collective experience. His sole album, Utiqpungaa (2009), is a haunting and heartfelt blend of folk, country-rock, and traditional Inuit rhythms—anchored by poetic songwriting, the pulse of the qilautik drum, and themes of memory, unity, and renewal.

Recorded at Lakeside Studio with a lineup of seasoned collaborators—including Kaylen Prescott, Adam Puddington, Curtis Chaffey, and Randall Prescott—the album spans blues, folk-rock, and atmospheric textures that evoke artists like CCR, Leonard Cohen, and Pink Floyd. Tracks like the title song and “Piqatigiyaqa” evoke fireside intimacy, while “The Three Musicians,” co-written with his daughter Karen, affirms the intergenerational spirit that defines much of his work. Sung in both Inuktitut and English, the record offers a rare musical lens into the modern North—at once deeply rooted and forward-looking.

Originally released on CD through Rip Roar Records, Utiqpungaa received praise in Inuktitut Magazine and was distributed modestly through grassroots channels. Today, original copies are scarce and valued by collectors of Indigenous and Northern Canadian music.

But Sam’s story extends far beyond music. After struggling with addiction for over four decades, he found sobriety in 2020 through a life-changing treatment program. That turning point now fuels his work as Senior Advisor for the Angutiit (Men’s) program in Nunavut’s Department of Health. Through the Atii Angutiit initiative, he travels to communities across the territory to facilitate healing workshops, create space for open dialogue, and champion suicide prevention—often inviting participants to symbolically hammer nails into a sign reading “TAIMA” (“Enough”).

Tutanuak shares his journey with raw honesty: “I spent 41 years being actively addicted,” he says. “But I finally got help. If sharing my story can help save one person, that’s everything.”

Whether in the studio, the community hall, or the healing circle, Sam Tutanuak stands as a bridge between generations and a voice of lived resilience. His music and message continue to echo across the North—reminding us that return is possible, and that even a spark can light the way forward.
-Robert Williston