Qapik Attagutsiak

Qapik Attagutsiak (11 June 1920 – 14 December 2023) was a Canadian Inuk World War II contributor and the last known surviving Inuit contributor of the War, particularly the drive to collect animal bones and carcasses for the Allied munitions effort.

Early life Attagutsiak was born on 11 June 1920 at Siuraq, near Chesterfield Inlet (Igluligaarjuk) and Coral Harbour, in the Keewatin Region of the Northwest Territories, now the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut, Canada. During World War II, the Government of Canada and the Department of Munitions and Supply instituted the National Resources Mobilization Act, Because these materials were not abundant in the Canadian Arctic, instead Inuit communities began to collect animal bones and carcasses to be shipped down to industrial cities and ports for use in the ongoing munitions drive. The members of the camp collected about three bags of animal bones and carcasses per day from 1940 through 1945, which is awarded "to honour significant contributions and achievements by Canadians". In January 2020, a ceremony in Gatineau was organised by Parks Canada and the Canadian Armed Forces at the Canadian Museum of History to honour Attagutsiak's contributions as the only known surviving representative of the wartime efforts by Inuit communities during World War II.

Attagutsiak was also acknowledged for her work as a health professional. Parks Canada credited Attagutsiak with being "instrumental in helping establish the Akausivik Inuit Family Health Team - Medical Centre in Ottawa" in her capacity as a midwife.

Attagutsiak was for several years the oldest Elder in Arctic Bay, and was called a "revered elder" in Nunatsiaq News. In 2014, a photo by Clare Kines that documented Attagutsiak's traditional lifestyle was a finalist in the Global Arctic Awards International Photography Competition, and was exhibited internationally.

Death Attagutsiak died in Ottawa on 14 December 2023, at the age of 103.