Kananginak Pootoogook was an Inuk

Inuit

The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...

 sculptor

Sculpture

Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...

 and printmaker

Printmaking

Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. Printmaking normally covers only the process of creating prints with an element of originality, rather than just being a photographic reproduction of a painting. Except in the case of monotyping, the process is capable...

 who lived in Cape Dorset, Nunavut

Nunavut

Nunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993...

. He died as a result of complications related to surgery for lung cancer

Lung cancer

Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...

.

Biography

Pootoogook was born at a traditional Inuit camp called Ikerasak

Ikerasak

Ikerasak is a village in the Qaasuitsup municipality in western Greenland. It had 238 inhabitants in 2010.- Geography :Ikerasak is located approximately 45 km southeast from Uummannaq, at the southeastern end of Ikerasak Island in the northwestern part of Ikerasak Fjord, where it widens into...

, near Cape Dorset, Nunavut (then in the Northwest Territories

Northwest Territories

The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...

) to Josephie Pootoogook, leader of the camp, and Sarah Ningeokuluk. The family lived a traditional lifestyle hunting and trapping while living in an iglu

Igloo

An igloo or snowhouse is a type of shelter built of snow, originally built by the Inuit....

in the winter and a sod house in the summer and did not move into their first southern style house until 1942. In 1957 Pootoogook married Shooyoo, moved to Cape Dorset and began work for James Houston.

Originally, Pootoogook did some carving, made prints and lithographs

Lithography

Lithography is a method for printing using a stone or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface...

 for other artists. At the same time he was a leader in setting up the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative, the first Inuit owned co-op

Cooperative

A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...

, now part of the Arctic Co-operatives Limited and served from 1959 until 1964 as the president. Although Kananginak had worked with his father, Josephie, in 1959, it was not until the 1970s that Kananginak began work as a full time artist producing drawings, carvings and prints. According to Terry Ryan, former Co-op manager, Pootoogook was both influenced by and an admirer of the works of his uncle, photographer and historian Peter Pitseolak

Peter Pitseolak

Peter Pitseolak was an Inuit photographer, artist and historian.-Life:]...

.

The World Wildlife Commission released a limited edition set in 1977 that included four of Pootoogook's images and in 1980 he was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts

Royal Canadian Academy of Arts

The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts is a Canadian arts-related institution founded in 1880, under the patronage of the Governor General of Canada, Sir John Douglas Sutherland Campbell, the Marquess of Lorne. Canadian landscape painter Homer Watson was a member and president of the Academy...

. In 1997 Pootoogook built a 6 ft (1.8 m) inukshuk

Inukshuk

An inuksuk is a stone landmark or cairn built by humans, used by the Inuit, Inupiat, Kalaallit, Yupik, and other peoples of the Arctic region of North America. These structures are found from Alaska to Greenland...

 in Cape Dorset for former Governor General of Canada

Governor General of Canada

The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...

, Roméo LeBlanc

Roméo LeBlanc

Roméo-Adrien LeBlanc was a Canadian journalist, politician, and statesman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 25th since Canadian Confederation....

. The inukshuk was dismantled and shipped to Ottawa

Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

 and with the assistance of his son, Johnny, it was rebuilt at Rideau Hall

Rideau Hall

Rideau Hall is, since 1867, the official residence in Ottawa of both the Canadian monarch and the Governor General of Canada. It stands in Canada's capital on a 0.36 km2 estate at 1 Sussex Drive, with the main building consisting of 170 rooms across 9,500 m2 , and 24 outbuildings around the...

 and unveiled on 21 June, National Aboriginal Day

National Aboriginal Day

National Aboriginal Day is a day recognizing and celebrating the cultures and contributions of the First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada. The day was first celebrated in 1996, after it was proclaimed that year by then Governor General of Canada Roméo LeBlanc, to be celebrated on June 21...

.

Pootoogook had several exhibitions and showings of his work. In 2010, he went to Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

 for the 2010 Winter Olympics

2010 Winter Olympics

The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...

 and to open a showing of his work at the Marion Scott Gallery. He also had a showing of his work, his first solo exhibition at a public institution, at the Museum of Inuit Art

Museum of Inuit Art

The Museum of Inuit Art, located within the historic Queens Quay Terminal at Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre, is Canada’s only public museum south of the Arctic to be devoted exclusively to Inuit art and culture...

 in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

 from February to May 2010. He also received a 2010 National Aboriginal Achievement Award

National Aboriginal Achievement Awards

The National Aboriginal Achievement Awards are annual awards presented by the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation in Canada. The awards are intended to celebrate and encourage excellence in the Aboriginal community.-About:...

 in the arts category from the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation

National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation

The National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation is a nationally registered non-profit organization dedicated to raising funds to deliver programs that provide the tools necessary for Aboriginal peoples in Canada, especially youth to achieve their potential.-About:To date the Foundation through its...

.

While working on his final, and unfinished, drawing of a Peterhead owned by his father, he was struck by coughing spells, which he declared was cancer. Along with his wife, Shooyoo, he flew to Ottawa, staying at the Larga Baffin home, and was diagnosed with lung cancer. In October 2010, he underwent surgery and did not recover. He died 23 November 2010 in Ottawa. He is survived by his wife, seven children and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and is buried in Cape Dorset.

Works

• The Small Owl (1977) lithograph, in the collection of the McCord Museum
  McCord Museum
  The McCord Museum is a public research and teaching museum dedicated to the preservation, study, diffusion, and appreciation of Canadian history...
  
  .
• Inintuq (1978), Stonecut and stencil, In the collection of the Dallas Museum of Art
  Dallas Museum of Art
  The Dallas Museum of Art is a major art museum located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, USA, along Woodall Rodgers Freeway between St. Paul and Harwood. In 1984, the museum moved from its previous location in Fair Park to the Arts District, Dallas, Texas...
  
  .
• An inukshuk (1997), assembled at Rideau Hall, Ottawa.

Honors

• Elected a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, 1980.
• National Aboriginal Achievement Award, arts category 2010.