Jennifer Geens
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Oct 05/05) - Susan Aglukark spent a few hours last Friday talking to Yellowknife teens about making decisions for the right reasons.

The Juno award winning singer from Arviat, Nunavut was the featured speaker at the Positive Choices, Making Changes youth conference at the Multiplex.

Susan Aglukark spoke to teens at a youth conference last Friday afternoon at the Multiplex. - Jennifer Geens/NNSL photo

Aglukark said she reached a crossroads in her life about six years ago when she had to decide whether to go on with her singing career.

"I had to decide at that time do I move ahead and continue because I have an obligation or because I want to?"

Aglukark hadn't really chosen to become a singer. She was working as a translator in Ottawa and part of her job was giving presentations on Inuit culture. Somehow a poem she had written while in high school student in Yellowknife evolved into a music video and ended up on Muchmusic.

The next thing she knew she was bombarded with recording offers. She went along with it at the time because she could see how aboriginal communities across the country were hurting and felt she had a responsibility to help. Maybe music was the way.

"I did it because I thought 'Maybe I can make a difference,'" she said.

In hindsight, she said, it was a recipe for burnout to try and help others before she had dealt with her own wounds.

Her presentation, which she interspersed with a few of her songs, was followed by a question and answer session.

The teens' questions ranged from "who are you?" and "are you rich?" to "what's your opinion on downloading music?"

In response to that last question, Aglukark said royalties from record sales are already very slim for artists, so downloading for free is a bad idea.

"I've sold 450,000 albums combined, and haven't made a cent," she said of record royalties.

"Paying to download is the legal way."

Aglukark now runs her own company, Aglukark Entertainment, and gets "a paycheque every two weeks, just like your mom and dad," she said.

She told the students that the definition of a "great life" doesn't mean a life of fame and fortune.

"I'm trying to show you can have a great life in knowing you can reach those turning points and make them work for you," she said.

She chose to continue making music, but because she wanted to, not because she felt she had to. Her most recent album, Big Feeling, won the 2004 Juno for Best Aboriginal Recording.