Lucy Tulugarjuk

Lucy Tulugarjuk, born on February 28, 1975, is a prominent Inuk actress, throat singer, and director from Igloolik, Nunavut. She currently serves as the executive director of the Nunavut Independent Television Network, where she advocates for Inuit representation in media.

Tulugarjuk gained recognition for her role in the groundbreaking 2001 film "Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner," which earned her the Best Actress award at the American Indian Film Festival. Her notable performances continued with the 2015 film "Maliglutit." In 2017, she made her directorial debut with "Tia and Piujuq" (ᑏᐊ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᐱᐅᔪᖅ), a project that featured her daughter in the lead role and was produced by Marie-Hélène Cousineau.

In collaboration with Carol Kunnuk, Tulugarjuk co-directed, co-wrote, and starred in "Tautuktavuk (What We See)," which premiered at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival in 2023 and won the Amplify Voices Award for Best First Film.

As a throat singer, Tulugarjuk has been a vocal advocate for Inuit rights and culture. In 2014, she publicly protested against government seismic testing by declining to perform for Nunavut MP Leona Aglukkaq, and she demonstrated her support for Inuit traditions by wearing seal skin at a cultural event. In 2021, she played a key role in the launch of Uvagut TV, a 24/7 online channel dedicated to Inuktitut programming, which she views as vital for the preservation and revitalization of Inuit language and culture.