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The death of Inuk musician Kelly Fraser on Christmas Eve is being met with shock and grief.
A cause of death has not been announced.
Fraser, who was living and died in Winnipeg, was originally from Sanikiluaq, NU. Her Arctic home, language and traditions figured prominently in her songs and activism.
“My music has helped people,” Fraser said in a recent video hoping to raise $60,000 via crowdfunding to produce her next album Decolonize.
“That’s why I want to keep making it.”
Her three sisters were reportedly enroute to Winnipeg with help from money raised through a GoFundMe campaign. By Friday it had topped $32,000 above the original $5,000 goal.
Kelly Fraser was one of the highlights of @TheJunoAwards in 2018 when she walked down the red carpet in a dress lined with glowing blue lights.
She was at once paying tribute to her Indigeneity and making a statement akin to a superhero.https://t.co/709vBo54ky
— David Friend (@dfriend) December 27, 2019
Fraser was an award-winning and Juno-nominated artist who sang and performed in Inukititut and English. She increasingly used her profile to advocate for Inuit causes, including throat singing.
But her fame had a dark side – online attacks and bullying.
“I face a ton of lateral violence and criticism and hate. If you wanna pile it on please first unfriend me,” she said in a recent post on her now-memorialized Facebook page.
“I need a strong support system, I am not looking to lose any more friends, believe me. I’m just trying to make our language and culture stronger through music thats all. Just because I am well known doesn’t mean I deserve it.”
Friends and prominent supporters encouraged her to keep going amid the negativity they said came from colonization.
(Kelly Fraser was known for her songwriting and promoting Inuit language and culture. APTN file)
“Unfortunately Eskimos do this a lot,” posted Peter Ittinuar, the first Inuk MP, in a reply.
“Way back when we’d come back from Ottawa and struggling with language and other things, the Eskimos, young and old, loved nothing better than to make us feel less than worthy. So it’s not a new phenomenon.”
Learning what Fraser, who also went by the name Iskell, had suffered prompted this post from First Nations Elder Claudette Commanda:
“What did they do to you
This is why lateral violence needs to come to an end in our Native, First Nations, Metis, and Inuit communities.
My heart is aching – breaking for you. Please remember that it’s the sensitive, intelligent, expressive ones that are frequently full of doubts, and its the stupid, arrogant, misinformed ones that are most often full of confidence. Don’t give the stupid ones a second of your time, they are boorish and loud and sometimes sneakily quiet, hiding behind a screen. Dismiss the poison ones, even if they are close and family. Believe in yourself, your intelligence, your integrity, your talent, your humanity and your passions. You can survive, flourish and share your creativity and potential with the many who need to hear you.