Elisapie

The recorded working language is Inuktitut, French and English. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are pop. Works named in the authority record are Arnaq. Distinctions recorded are Ordre des arts et des lettres du Québec, Felix Award for Indigenous Artist of the Year, Juno Award for Contemporary Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year and Oliver Schroer Pushing the Boundaries Award.

• Name — Elisapie • Birth Name — Elisapie Isaac • Born — 1977 • Birthplace — Moose Factory, Ontario, Canada • Occupation — * Musician • documentary filmmaker • Years Active — 1989—present • Website — elisapie.com

Elisapie was born in Moose Factory, Ontario, to an Inuk mother and a father from Newfoundland. She was adopted at birth and raised by Anglican parents in Salluit, QC who were distant relatives of her biological mother, Eva Audlaluk, a host at the local branch of a northern radio network. She grew up listening to Christian hymns translated into Inuktitut. She performed at age 12 with the Salluit band Sugluk, one of whose members was her uncle George Kakayuk. Her music aspirations led her to move to Montreal in her early 20s, where she formed the musical duo Taima with the instrumentalist Alain Auger. The act's name is Inuktitut for "that's all" or "it is done". The band's sole album, Taima, won the Juno Award for Aboriginal Recording of the Year in 2005. In 2010, Isaac's first solo album, There Will Be Stars, was released by Pheromone Recordings. On the album, she sings in English, French, and Inuktitut. Her second solo album, Travelling Love, was released in October 2012 under the name Elisapie. During the Juno Awards, she was mistakenly nominated as Breakthrough Artist of the Year, before it was revealed that she had been a Juno winner in 2005; the nomination was rescinded and given to Shawn Hook instead. She garnered a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Original Song at the 2nd Canadian Screen Awards for her song "Far Away", which appeared in the film The Legend of Sarila. At the Juno Awards of 2019, her album The Ballad of the Runaway Girl was nominated for the Indigenous Music Album of the Year. In July 2019, the album was shortlisted for the 2019 Polaris Music Prize. This album again contained lyrics in English, French, and Inuktitut. Isaac has an extensive background in media production as well. When asked about her work in this medium in relation to her music, she has stated "I really believe that communication and radio was really a place for me to express my inner creativity, and I love that medium. And it has helped me to be a little more aware, especially when I have to be doing interviews and have a larger vision of my work than just the artiste point of view". In 2021, Isaac was announced to have landed her first onscreen acting role, in C.S. Roy's forthcoming augmented reality film, V F C. She also had a part in the television crime drama series Motel Paradis in 2022. In 2023, she released the album Inuktitut, consisting of ten Inuktitut-language covers of classic pop and rock songs. She won the award for Contemporary Indigenous Artist of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2024, and Best Adult Alternative Album at the Juno Awards of 2025. The album was a shortlisted finalist for the 2024 Polaris Music Prize. On June 13, 2024, Canada Post released a series of stamps titled "Indigenous Leaders". One of them is dedicated to Isaac, marking her cultural contributions.

Isaac dated actor Patrice Robitaille from 2003 to 2011. In 2006, she gave birth to a daughter. She also has a son, born in 2014. In February 2018, she revealed that she was pregnant with her third child, a boy.

• Year — Title — Role — Notes — Ref. • 2008 — The Necessities of Life — Inuit mother • 2013 — The Legend of Sarila — Sedna — Voice • 2020 — Soul — Miali — Voice • 2022 — Motel Paradis — Sabrina Bérubé-Caron • 2023 — V F C

Her recorded languages were Inuktitut, French and English.