New docuseries on Arctic life premieres next month on APTN

Terry Uyarak is an acclaimed Inuk singer/songwriter who has also worked as a performer and artistic director of an Inuit circus troupe.

Even with all that entertainment experience under his belt, Uyarak, who lives in Igloolik, a hamlet in Nunavut, was nervous during one of his recent gigs.

Uyarak is featured in the first episode of a new docuseries titled Go North! that will begin airing on APTN Sept. 3.

Go North! is a series that celebrates Indigenous travel, resilience and life in the Arctic. In the initial episode, titled “Open Water,” Uyarak leads a group of Inuit youth on a walrus hunting expedition.

When he’s not performing on a stage, Uyarak is out on the land hunting and harvesting food and he’s thrilled that he was able to participate in the first season of Go North!, which will consist of six hour-long episodes.

“I was approached and asked if I wanted to be involved in the series,” Uyarak said. “And I thought if ‘I say yes, then I can always go back and watch that video in my lifetime’.”

For Uyarak, this marked the first time he has been involved in a television series.

“I never thought I would do this,” he said.

“The camera is a powerful thing. You feel it. In the beginning I had to be workshopped on how to be normal around the camera.” But he said several takes were not required during filming.

“There was just a group of wonderful guys that were telling me ‘just be normal. Try to ignore the camera’,” he said. “In the beginning, I really felt it and it made me nervous and sweaty.”

Uyarak was joined by about 10 youth for a week of filming last August.

Uyarak believes the series will have an impact.

“If we really think about how big Canada is, it's so big. It’s just a part that I want the world to know.”

Uyarak said many people don’t have any idea what life in the North is like.

 “Surprisingly, there are so many people that don't know life exist here.”

Uyarak said he was pleased that he was able to represent those from Igloolik.

“We come from people that were known to be walrus people,” he said. “The original people here knew walrus so well. And we are proud of it. We are still practicing hunting walrus and aging it, fermenting it today, in the way that we were brought up. I want the world to know that we are still in harmony with the walrus.”

He said it was vital to include local youth in the filming episode instead of just showing adults out hunting.

“They are our future,” Uyarak said. “Just like our parents always have brought us to their hunting practices, we have to do the same to continue sharing knowledge.”

Uyarak said there was a bit of a delay during filming before the Go North! crew could join him and others out on the waters.

“It was a better day to cross that part of the ocean,” he said of the day when a walrus was nabbed. “That is just open water. And we need really calm winds to travel through there. So, we waited a few days for that perfect day.”

Uyarak said having a successful walrus hunting day was especially important for the youth involved.

“They get hope in life,” he said. “City life is not the only answer. They get to understand how big the world is. And if they wish to, they can provide for their families. We give them that little taste and understanding of how things can be.”

All those who were part of the walrus hunt were able to take home some walrus meat.

Uyarak is only featured in the first episode of Go North! If asked, he would welcome the chance to be involved if the series gets renewed for another year.

“I hope so,” he said. “It’s just wonderful to have that opportunity.”

Uyarak released his debut album Nunarjua Isulinginniani in 2020. It was nominated for a national JUNO Award in the best Indigenous Music Album of the Year category the following year.

Uyarak released a second album in 2023 tiled Unnuaq.