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Ausuittuq, NU, whose name means “rarely thaws from a frozen state,” is the northernmost civilian community in Canada, located on the southern tip of Ellesmere Island in the Qikiqtaaluk region of Nunavut. The island has been used by Inuit as far back as 2000 BCE, but Ausuittuq was created as a permanent community in 1953, when the federal government relocated several families from Inukjuak, Nunavik, QC, to Ausuittuq (and Qausuittuq), places with much harsher environments than they were prepared for. Consequently, there is a large stone monument in the community, carved by local sculptor Looty Pijamini, which depicts a mother and child looking towards Inukjuak.
Being very remote, Ausuittuq is noted for its close-knit atmosphere—there are fewer than 150 inhabitants—and friendliness, with an annual fishing derby in May that celebrates spring. The surrounding Arctic Cordillera mountain range is popular among tourists, described as a must-climb for the view of the community. Ausuittuq is one of the coldest inhabited places in the world, which may help explain why much of the traditional art practiced here involves sewing warm winter clothes, and why hunting and trapping is still routinely taught and practiced.
Sculpture is the other main art form that has been popular in town over the years; local sculptors include Paul Kasudluak and Kavavoe Kiguktak, in addition to Pijamini and his father, Abraham Pijamini (1928–?), both celebrated master carvers. Despite its small size and the lack of a dedicated workspace, Ausuittuq is also home to a number of other artists: there’s jeweller Jennifer Ningiuk, known for her beaded naluaq accessories, photographer Laisa Audaluk-Watsko, known for breathtaking shots of the surrounding area, and writer Larry Audlaluk, CC, Ausuittuq’s longest-living resident, whose memoir What I Remember, What I Know: The Life of a High Arctic Exile was nominated for a Governor General’s literary award in 2021.
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