Former mayor and political activist born in Povungnituk (now Puvirnituq) in the late 1940s or early 1950s.
Harry Tulugak was born in Povungnituk (now Puvirnituq) in the late 1940s or early 1950s. He grew up in this village, which is one three Nunavik communities that did not sign the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement in 1976. He pursued his studies first in Puvirnituq, then in Ottawa (Ontario). From 1972 to 1996, he worked at the Puvirnituq cooperative, holding various positions from clerk to manager. His father had been the first general manager of the cooperative.
Harry Tulugak was a key member of the movement advocating for self-government in Nunavik. He played an active role in organizing elections for the Nunavik Constitutional Committee in 1988 and 1989. He also contributed to a special issue of Le Devoir, published on April 1st, 1989, and devoted to the process leading to self-governance. He was later elected mayor of Povungnituk (now Puvirnituq), serving from 1991 to 1993.
In March 1998, Harry Tulugak was appointed chief negotiator for Nunavik during the self-government negotiations. He also continued his involvement as executive assistant to the president of the Makivik Corporation (now Makivvik), Pita Aatami, in 1999; the same year, he was named co-chair of the Nunavik Commission, a position he held until 2001. This commission, created to develop recommendations for a governance model suited to the needs of Nunavimmiut (“people who were born or live in Nunavik”), represented a significant milestone in discussions on Nunavik’s self-government. Alongside André Binette, Harry Tulugak co-authored the trilingual (Inuktitut, French, English) Nunavik Commission Report in 2001. Later that year, he was appointed negotiator to represent the interests of Nunavimmiut, a role he held until 2011, when a referendum was held on the creation of a regional government in Nunavik. This project was however rejected by close to two-thirds of Nunavimmiut.
Harry Tulugak’s political engagement led him to publish two articles. The first, published in 2002, was included in Regard sur la Convention de la Baie-James et du Nord québécois, co-edited by Alain-G. Gagnon and Guy Rocher, and is titled “La gouvernance dans la Convention de la Baie-James et du Nord québécois: une perspective inuit.” The second, published in 2014, appeared in Uqausivut sivummuagutivut: Our language, our leadership, edited by Jeela Palluq-Cloutier and Louis McComber, under the title “We need more exposure to our language.” In 2018, he participated in the Atausiq Inuktut Titirausiq (literally: “One Inuktut Writing System”), a working group overseen by Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (literally: “Inuit are united in Canada”), the Inuit association of Canada. This group made the controversial but historic decision to favour the Roman alphabet over the syllabic writing system in the standardization of Inuit writing, a landmark initiative for the preservation and transmission of the language.
Alongside his major political commitments, Harry Tulugak has been deeply involved in his community. From 1994 to 2005, he served on the executive committee of the Inuulitsivik Health Centre in Puvirnituq; he was its interim director from September 1997 to January 1998.
Harry Tulugak continues to reside in Puvirnituq today. He is the uncle of Bobby Kenuajuak, a documentary filmmaker who is also from this community.