Peter Tapatai
I’ve always been interested in being on the stage, ever since my school days; especially when I started seeing Inuit on television, like Super Shamou (Peter Tapatai). He was the Inuk superhero; the show only had three episodes out of the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) in the late 1980s. Super Shamou allowed people to think that whatever they see on television, we Inuit could also do the same. The people at IBC have been really great to work with, too, and have been a starting point for getting onscreen art off the ground. Peter is one of our heroes at Qanurli?, as he is someone we can look up to and we appreciate all the work he has done. His work allows us to think it’s okay for us to do what we want to do, in a way that pleases us. We spoke to him once, and he said, “Don’t let anyone think that what you’re doing is competition for other people in the performing arts. It just means you are creating more content for Inuit in Inuktut and that should not be looked upon negatively in any way.” –