RANKIN INLET, Nunavut — Legendary Inuk singer Charlie Panigoniak, whose music spanned the cultural gap between Inuit legends and modern Christmas carols, has died.
Panigoniak, who was 72, died this morning at his home in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut.
The guitarist and songwriter had been performing in the language of his people since the early 1970s.
Born on the land, he learned to play the guitar on an instrument his father made from a tin can.
His songs were sometimes religious and sometimes rooted in traditional stories — such as one featuring a talking seal.
He used to perform an Inuktitut version of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”
A new generation of northern musicians call him a trailblazer for singing about life in the far North.
Panigoniak had dementia and Parkinson’s disease and had been in declining health for some years.
The Canadian Press
