Our Vision

What is Saliqmiut?

Named after the people of Tuktoyaktuk, Saliqmiut: Tuktuuyaqtuuq Centre for Arts and Culture will be dedicated to the preservation of Saliqmiut and Inuvialuit culture and heritage through the perpetuation of traditional knowledge and historical documentation in cultural activities, visual and performing arts by engaging the local community with a special focus on youth and Elders from the Western Arctic region in creative development and educational exchanges between each other and visitors from around the world.

Saliqmiut will provide the requisite workshops, museum space, archives, collections storage, co-working space and administrative space to support and grow the community’s capacity and ensure that important traditional knowledge is not only perpetuated, but also brought forward in contemporary art forms and vocational applications that will bolster and grow the community’s economic opportunities.

Cradling the spirit and strength of our coastal people, Saliqmiut will be a beacon of leadership, weaving together past and present, the Elders and the young, the traditional and the contemporary in a profoundly beautiful and meaningful arts and cultural centre.  Our values, our heritage, our culture, the land and the sea, the wildlife - all the feelings, sounds, scents, sights and tastes of this place are captured in this new centre - our legacy.

Who is Saliqmiut?

WE ARE SALIQMIUT. We, Saliqmiut, are the people of this place. We have been here since time immemorial. Our strength comes from this land, this sea. We are inseparable from our dream of building Saliqmiut: Tuktuuyaktuuq Centre for Arts and Culture.

Where is Saliqmiut? 

In the community of Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories, Canada - on the edge of the Beaufort Delta at the end of the only North American road that leads to the Arctic Ocean. Tuktoyaktuk is an epicentre of northern arts and culture as well as a destination for artists and cultural visitors from around the world.

When is Saliqmiut happening? 

Now. In this time of great and global uncertainty, when more community, not less, is essential to the wellbeing of all human beings.

Now. When celebrating cultural identity through the arts can bring newfound purpose and meaning to a world faced with unprecedented social, economic, and environmental change.

Who is Saliqmiut for?

Saliqmiut is a gathering place for the local community, for the Beaufort Region and far beyond - to the Western Arctic and Circumpolar Nations. It belongs to the people of this place, while welcoming and embracing local and visiting artists and students – particularly youth – and cultural travellers from across Canada and around the world.

In the summer, Saliqmiut will open its doors to visitors who make the journey to Tuktoyaktuk for leisure and artistic pursuits.  When winter comes, Saliqmiut will hum with new and master artisans, teachers and students from the region and around the world – gathering to share, to learn to perform.  Saliqmiut will be alive with song, dance, drumming, carving, sewing, graphic arts, film, made-objects and functional arts and crafts that this special place on the Arctic Ocean is renowned for.

Why are we building Saliqmiut? 

To convey the resiliency, resourcefulness, adaptivity and continuity of Saliqmiut culture and the ongoing role of Tuktoyaktuk as a key touchpoint of Canadian heritage, economic development and sovereignty.  To encourage all who pass through the door to be curious and to understand, to inquire and to learn, to help preserve and to create new, through innovative live and digital arts and cultural programs, storytelling, performances, workshops, courses, demonstrations, maker spaces, events and other interpretive experiences. 

How will we do this?

  • Dream it.

    We dream of a place to welcome artists from across the North, to all Inuit and anywhere in the world. A dream of accessibility and inclusion; to be completely identifiable as a people and a place; we have always been here. A dream of a place we never have to leave.

  • Build it.

    We will build a place to hold the spirit of Saliqmiut. A place to build awareness, preserve, perpetuate Saliqmiut culture and wider Inuvialuit culture. A place so profoundly beautiful and meaningful, so imbued with our heritage, with the raw sensory experience of the land, the magical pingos, the sea and sky, that it never leaves those who visit. We will build a place for retrieving artifacts back to the community. A place to take responsibility for carrying our culture forward.

  • Grow it.

    We will grow to tie the past to the present and future by empowering youth to engage in the arts, develop their life goals, create meaning and purpose in their lives. Grow and make an imprint that acknowledges Saliqmiut for all the time before and forevermore.

Our Voices

Hear from the elders, artists, and community of Tuktuuyaqtuuq as they talk about the importance of culture, art, and storytelling as well as how Saliqmiut will help them reclaimin their identity and preserve their heritage.

 
Video Gallery
Carvings of Our Culture - Saliqmiut Ep. 8
Carvings of Our Culture - Saliqmiut Ep. 8

A prominent form of art within the community of Tuktoyaktuk, carving has long been a traditional and beloved practice. Although carving began as a way to make tools, with long winters and no stone walls, carving became the medium through which carvers could express themselves and life surrounding them.

A prominent form of art within the community of Tuktoyaktuk, carving has long been a traditional and beloved practice. Although carving began as a way to make tools, with long winters and no stone walls, carving became the medium through which carvers could express themselves and life surrounding them. While the techniques and teachings were passed down by their elders, the carvers of today continue to be inspired by those who came before them.
Drum Beats To Our Culture - Saliqmiut Ep. 7
Drum Beats To Our Culture - Saliqmiut Ep. 7

Drum dancing has been part of Inuvialuit musical life for centuries. Accompanied by a rhythmic beat of drums, singers and dancers recount legends, stories and traditions.

Drum dancing has been part of Inuvialuit musical life for centuries. Accompanied by a rhythmic beat of drums, singers and dancers recount legends, stories and traditions.
Land of the Pinguqsaaryuit - Saliqmiut Ep. 6
Land of the Pinguqsaaryuit - Saliqmiut Ep. 6

Pinguqsaaryuit, the Inuvialuktun word for pingos, are an iconic landmark that emerge from the relatively flat land of the Canadian Western Arctic. For millennia, pingos have played an important part of Inuvialuit culture, serving as landmarks for the Inuvialuit who have lived and travelled the Western Arctic, along with providing a place to camp, collect berries and get out on the land.

Pinguqsaaryuit, the Inuvialuktun word for pingos, are an iconic landmark that emerge from the relatively flat land of the Canadian Western Arctic. For millennia, pingos have played an important part of Inuvialuit culture, serving as landmarks for the Inuvialuit who have lived and travelled the Western Arctic, along with providing a place to camp, collect berries and get out on the land. As such an important and everlasting feature of Tuk, Pingos continue to inspire stories, traditions and of course, art. Here’s the stories inspired by these iconic landmarks.
Stories Through Art - Saliqmiut Ep. 5
Stories Through Art - Saliqmiut Ep. 5

Inspired by and sourced from the land, art and storytelling go hand in hand. Just as life stories are weaved into garments, stories are also told through visual art forms. Artists within the community express themselves in both the traditional and contemporary, but are always telling relevant stories of their culture, community, and way of life.

Inspired by and sourced from the land, art and storytelling go hand in hand. Just as life stories are weaved into garments, stories are also told through visual art forms. Artists within the community express themselves in both the traditional and contemporary, but are always telling relevant stories of their culture, community, and way of life.

Hand Crafted Stories - Saliqmiut Ep. 4
Hand Crafted Stories - Saliqmiut Ep. 4

Traditional Inuvialuit clothing provided more than protection from the elements. It was also a form of expression and storytelling. Sewn into the precious fabrics were stories of people, places and situations that would become a part of the piece - with every stitch life stories are woven into works of art - weaving together the past and the present, the traditional and the contemporary.

Traditional Inuvialuit clothing provided more than protection from the elements. It was also a form of expression and storytelling. Sewn into the precious fabrics were stories of people, places and situations that would become a part of the piece - with every stitch life stories are woven into works of art - weaving together the past and the present, the traditional and the contemporary.

Developing these traditional techniques required skill and creativity that can only be taught by Elders and passed on through many generations. Through the creation of these garments and the techniques shared, stories and traditions are kept alive. Here’s the hand crafted stories of various Inuvialuit artists.
Our Place of Culture - Saliqmiut Ep. 3
Our Place of Culture - Saliqmiut Ep. 3

Rooted in the traditional practices, the Saliqmuit: Centre for Arts and Culture will be modeled after Indigenous architectures and ingenuity. Here’s the buildings that influenced the centre and the stories behind the design.

Rooted in the traditional practices, the Saliqmuit: Centre for Arts and Culture will be modeled after Indigenous architectures and ingenuity. Here’s the buildings that influenced the centre and the stories behind the design.