Journalist, cultural worker, and musician born in Baker Lake (Nunavut) in 1952.
William Tagoona was born in 1952 in Baker Lake (Inuktitut: Qamani’tuaq), in what is today Nunavut. His father, the Reverend Armand Tagoona, was the first Inuk to be ordained in the Anglican Church of Canada and was a founding member of the Arctic Christian Fellowship, the first Inuit church. In 1957, after being diagnosed with tuberculosis, William Tagoona was compelled to leave his family to receive treatment at the Clearwater Lake Sanatorium in Manitoba. He attended residential school in Churchill, Manitoba and completed his high school studies in Ottawa (Ontario) in 1970.
William Tagoona spent some time working for Inuit Tapirisat of Canada (ITC; literally: “the Inuit brotherhood of Canada”) before relocating to Kuujjuaq (Nunavik) in 1971 to begin a career in journalism at Inuktitut Magazine. In 1973, William Tagoona founded Tagralik magazine and became its first editor-in-chief. Published by the Northern Quebec Inuit Association (Kupaik Tarrangani Inuit Katujjiqatigiingit; now Makivvik), Tagralik magazine provided news about land claims negotiations to the community. As a journalist, William Tagoona has authored over thirty articles in Inuit magazines such as Atuaqnik, Makivik News, Makivik Magazine and Inuktitut Magazine. He also co-edited, with Minnie Grey et Marianne Stenbaek, the first volume of the anthology Voices and Images of Nunavimmiut (Vol. 1, Stories & Tales; 2013). The ten volumes of Voices and Images of Nunavimmiut aim to present an Inuit perspective on all aspects of society, drawing on articles previously published in periodicals.
Throughout his life, William Tagoona has worked to improve communications within Inuit communities. He joined CBC North in 1982, beginning a 30-year career as a broadcaster and creator of Inuktitut programming. He also participated in the production of two films, The history of Nunavik: a new political era (1997) and Napagunnaqullusi = Se tenir debout (2015).
William Tagoona was a member of one of the first Inuit rock groups, The Harpoons, which was formed in the 1960s. He began to write songs in Inuktitut when he settled in Kuujjuaq in 1971; his musical style has been described as Inuit country western. His music is well known and popular in the North. His recording studio, Qimuk Music, has produced 35 albums. William Tagoona received a Lifetime Contribution award in 2001 at the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards (now the Indigenous Music Awards).
William Tagoona lives in Kuujjuak with his family. He is the co-host of the CBC North radio news show Tuttavik.