Member of the Order of Canada

• Awarded on: October 21, 1999
• Invested on: April 26, 2000

She has devoted much of her life to preserving the history of the Inuit people. In the 1970s, she was one of the first writers to record their oral history on tape. She then completed the first biography of a Native person based on first-hand accounts. Printed in both English and Inuktitut, it was the second book, after the Bible, to be published in the Inuit's native tongue. She has produced numerous other texts, articles, films and exhibitions, helping Canadians to understand the complexities and importance of Inuit culture.