Information/Write-up
These rare recordings are more than music — they are a bridge between generations. As one teacher from Baker Lake, Nunavut shared on Aug 16, 2025:
“I am so grateful to you for making these recordings from Baker Lake available. These songs, because of you, are now going to become part of the children's education. Their language and culture is vital to their identity, and there is so much erosion of it from competing distractions. Most of the children speak English and don't know Inuktitut. These songs will connect the younger generations, and future generations, to their roots. These songs will reconnect the younger generations to their culture and their language. Thank you for making that possible. There are still some Elders in Baker Lake who lived a traditional, nomadic life before moving to Baker Lake.”
Sept 30, 2025 update: The recordings have already begun to spark moments of recognition. Just recently, Elder Jean Simailik, who sings on several tracks including Wildlife (#10), heard her own voice played back in a local Baker Lake restaurant. She smiled and shared her wish to write down the words to her songs while at her cabin — a powerful reminder that this project continues to live and grow through the Elders themselves.
While the exact location of the sessions remains to be confirmed, it is believed they were recorded in Baker Lake, likely at the now-condemned Inuit Heritage Centre, once a hub of cultural preservation before it was closed due to asbestos. What matters most is that these songs remain rooted in the community and are now being carried forward into classrooms and homes.
The Museum of Canadian Music helps to keep voices like these alive and within reach. Tuhaalruuqtut: Authentic Inuit Songs Volume 1 is a piece of life carried forward, making sure the throat songs, stories, and lullabies of the Inuit can still be heard, learned, and lived.
-Robert Williston
Liner notes:
To the people we call ‘Eskimos’ the designation Eskimo is a foreign word. It means ‘eaters of raw meat’ and was used invidiously by Indian groups of eastern Canada in referring to their culturally different northerly neighbours. The Indian term was picked up by Europeans. They call themselves ‘Real People’ in three language variations: Inuit in Greenland and Canada, Inupiat in northern Alaska, and Yuit in southwestern Alaska and Siberia.
This CD has music of the Inuit in the Canadian Northwest Territories. You’ll hear songs varying from throat singing to lullabies. This CD was made possible by The Department of Indian and Northern Affairs (Canada), Calm Air, The Hamlet of Baker Lake.
The Inuit of Canada have been greatly affected by changes in their relationship to the land since World War II. Defence installations, the search for oil and minerals, and a greater government consciousness of the need for educational, medical, and social developments have resulted in widespread changes in traditional life. Although in some isolated areas hunting and trapping are still carried on, most Inuit have congregated in towns and settlements in search of wage labour as well as to take advantage of modern facilities. For many the cost has been social disruption.
Produced by Sally Qimmiu'naaq Webster, assisted by Winnie Owingayak
Recorded at Cooper Studios, Vancouver, British Columbia
Related recordings: https://citizenfreak.com/titles/321529-compilation-tuhaalruuqtut-volume-2
I am so grateful to you for making these recordings from Baker Lake available. These songs, because of you, are now going to become part of the children's education. Their language and culture is vital to their identity, and there is so much erosion of it from competing distractions. Most of the children speak English and don't know Inuktitut. These songs will connect the younger generations, and future generations, to their roots. These songs will reconnect the younger generations to their culture and their language. Thank you for making that possible. There are still some Elders in Baker Lake who lived a traditional, nomadic life before moving to Baker Lake. Anne