Cultural Advisor and Lecturer
Born in Arkisserniaq, a northern Greenland community, in 1960 Aaju has lived up and down the west coast of her native country as a result of her father’s teaching and preaching career. At age eleven, Aaju left Greenland to attend school in Denmark where she learned to read German, French, English, Latin and speak Danish. At age eighteen, she returned home to Greenland.
In 1981, Aaju moved to Iqaluit, in Nunavut, Canada where she has taken up residence ever since. In Iqaluit Aaju learned English and Inuktitut, which has helped her succeed in her work as an interpreter, and she has done volunteer work with various women’s and interpretation organizations. Her interests led her to the Arctic College where she took Inuit studies. She has travelled Greenland, Europe and Canada performing lamp lighting ceremonies, traditional Inuit songs, displaying sealskin fashions. Currently Aaju has a home-based sealskin garment business, translates, collects traditional law from elders, raised her five children, drove a dump-truck to build the breakwater in Iqaluit, has worked as a cultural guide in the tourism industry sailing to most communities in Greenland and arctic Canada. Aaju is a graduate of the Akitsiraq Law School (2005) and was called to the bar (2007).
In recent years Aaju has been involved with documentaries such as Angry Inuk, Tunniit: Retracing the lines of Inuit tattoos, and Arctic Defenders. These days Aaju is advocating for Inuit rights to seal and sealskin products as well as the Inuit right to be involved in issues related to Arctic waters. Aaju received the Order of Canada on December 30, 2011.