Editing Pitseolak Ashoona (section)

==Biography==
Pitseolak was born to Timungiak and Oootochie on [[Nottingham Island]] in the [[Northwest Territories]], now [[Nunavut]]. Her name means "sea pigeon" in [[Inuktitut]].<ref name=NGC>{{cite web |url=https://www.gallery.ca/collection/artist/pitseolak-ashoona |title=Pitseolak Ashoona 1904–1983|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date= |publisher=National Gallery of Canada |access-date=May 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507052431/https://www.gallery.ca/collection/artist/pitseolak-ashoona |archive-date=May 7, 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last1=Holmlund|first1=Mona|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XhHUzUwJtA4C&q=pitseolak+ashoona&pg=PA247|title=Inspiring Women: A Celebration of Herstory|last2=Youngberg|first2=Gail|date=2003|publisher=Coteau Books|isbn=978-1-55050-204-6|location=|pages=247|language=en}}</ref> She grew up in the traditional life of her people, with food dependent on hunting and gathering. Her culture relied on [[Angakkuq|angakuit]].

In 1922 (or 1923), Pitseolak married Ashoona, a hunter, in the [[Foxe Peninsula]] of [[Baffin Island]].<ref name=CWAHI>{{cite web |url=http://cwahi.concordia.ca/sources/artists/displayArtist.php?ID_artist=196 |title=PITSEOLAK (Pitseolak Ashoona) |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=August 6, 2012 |publisher=Canadian Women Artists History Initiative |access-date=March 10, 2015}}</ref> They had 17 children, though only six (Namoonie, Qaqaq, Kumwartok, Kiugak, Napachie, and Ottochie) lived with Pitseolak until adulthood. Some died in childhood, and others were adopted out according to custom<!-- explain -->, and raised by other Inuit families.<ref name=Lalonde>{{ cite web | url=http://www.aci-iac.ca/pitseolak-ashoona/biography | title= Pitseolak Ashoona: Life and Work | last=Lalonde | first=Christine | publisher=Art Canada Institute | date=2015 |website=The Art Canada Institute }}</ref>

After her husband died at the age of 40 from a viral sickness, Pitseolak raised four of the children, Kumwartok, Qaqaq, [[Kiugak Ashoona|Kiawak or Kiugak]], and daughter [[Napachie Pootoogook]], herself.<!-- Does not agree with list of 6 above that lived with her until adults -->{{citation needed|date=July 2015}} Years of hardship followed the death of Ashoona, which occurred sometime in the early to mid 1940s. He died in the early years of the Second World War, a time of decline in the market for furs.<ref name=Lalonde/>

Over time the loss of Ashoona led Pitseolak to become an artist. Making prints eased her loneliness and she described her art as what made her "the happiest since he died". Pitseolak's artwork later enabled her to support her family. Though her art arose from painful circumstances, it expressed mostly positive memories and experiences. As Christine Lalonde notes in ''Pitseolak Ashoona: Life & Work'': "scenes of deprivation and suffering almost never appear in her drawings, though certain images convey sadness and longing" about the passing of Ashoona.<ref name=Lalonde/>

Pitseolak is recognized as one of the first Inuit artists to create autobiographical works. Her art contained images of traditional Inuit life and contributed to the establishment of a modern Inuit art form, one that transmitted traditional knowledge and values while at the same time achieving worldwide popular and commercial success.<ref name=Lalonde/>

Pitseolak died on May 28, 1983, in [[Kinngait|Cape Dorset]] now Kinngait. She was survived by a large family of artists, including:

* [[Napatchie Pootoogook]], daughter, graphic artist<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=ULAN Full Record Display (Getty Research)|url=https://www.getty.edu/vow/ULANFullDisplay?find=ashoona&role=&nation=&prev_page=1&subjectid=500127338|access-date=2021-02-04|website=www.getty.edu}}</ref> 
** [[Annie Pootoogook]], (1969–2016), artist; granddaughter<ref name=":2" />
* Qaqaq Ashoona ("Kaka") (1928–1996), elder son and sculptor<ref name=Routledge>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/qaqaq-ashoona/ |title=Qaqaq Ashoona |last=Routledge |first=Marie  |date=July 2, 2006 |encyclopedia =[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]] |publisher=[[Historica Canada]] |edition=online |access-date=March 10, 2015}}</ref>
** Ohitok, sculptor – grandson
* [[Kiugak Ashoona]] (1933–2014), son and sculptor<ref name="Routledge2">{{cite encyclopedia | access-date=March 10, 2015 | url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/kiawak-ashoona/ | title=Kiawak Ashoona | encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia | publisher=Historica Canada | date=July 2, 2006 | last=Routledge | first=Marie | edition=online}}</ref>
** [[Shuvinai Ashoona]], (born 1961) artist, granddaughter<ref name=":2" />
* Kumwartok Ashoona, son and sculptor<ref name=Routledge/>