Armand Tagoona and the Arctic Christian Fellowship: The first Inuit church in Canada

Abstract Armand Tagoona (1926–1991) was born in Naujaat (Repulse Bay, Northwest Territories) in 1926, from an Inuk mother and a German father. Born as a Roman Catholic, he converted to Anglicanism. In 1969, he founded a new independent religious group affiliated to the Anglican Church in Qamani’tuaq...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar Record
Main Authors: Laugrand, Frédéric, Laneuville, Pascale
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2019
Subjects:
General Earth and Planetary Sciences
Ecology
Geography, Planning and Development
Arctic
Canada
Naujaat
Northwest Territories
Repulse Bay
Baker Lake
inuit
Polar Record
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247419000226
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247419000226
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Summary:Abstract Armand Tagoona (1926–1991) was born in Naujaat (Repulse Bay, Northwest Territories) in 1926, from an Inuk mother and a German father. Born as a Roman Catholic, he converted to Anglicanism. In 1969, he founded a new independent religious group affiliated to the Anglican Church in Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake, Northwest Territories): the Arctic Christian Fellowship (ACF). In this paper, we examine his life briefly as well as this very first “Inuit church” he created. We argue that Tagoona played the role of a mediator encompassing various religious traditions and various cultures at a time when solid boundaries separated all these institutions. In bridging them, Tagoona’s church turned to be very innovative and aimed at more religious autonomy, while being fundamentally guided by the words of God. Tagoona’s church carries conversionist, reformist and utopian aspects at the same time.

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