Naumealuk, Jimmy Patsauq

Poet and hunter born in the Inukjuak region (Nunavik) in 1951 - died in Inukjuak (Nunavik) in 1984.

Jimmy Patsauq Naumealuk also known as Jimmy Patsauq Naymealuk, was born in 1951 in the Inukjuak region in Nunavik. He was the little brother of Markoosie Patsauq and John Amagoalik, Nunavik politician. Jimmy Patsauq Naumealuk was raised in Resolute Bay, (now called Qausuittuq) his family being one of many forced by the Canadian government to relocate to the High Arctic in 1953, where living conditions were extremely difficult. He attended Churchill Vocation School, a residential school in Manitoba and then moved to Inukjuak, Nunavik to work for the Northern Quebec Inuit Association (NQIA).

Jimmy Patsauq Naumealuk was a contemporary Inuit poet with four poems forming his corpus. In 1974, these poems appeared in different issues of Inukshuk, a community newspaper published by the citizens of Frobisher Bay (now called Iqaluit). The most well known is « Wondering in Silence » and expresses worry about the future, obliquely referencing the community’s preoccupation with land claim negotiations.

Jimmy Patsauq Naumealuk died unexpectedly, in 1984, frozen to death during a hunting trip.

This biography is based on the available written material during a collective research carried out during 2018-2021. It is possible that mistakes and facts need to be corrected. If you notice an error, or if you wish to correct something in an author's biography, please write to us at imaginairedunord@uqam.ca and we will be happy to do so. This is how we will be able to have more precise presentations, and to better promote Inuit culture.

 

(c) International Laboratory for Research on Images of the North, Winter and the Arctic, Université du Québec à Montréal, 2018-2021, Daniel Chartier and al.