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Andy Miki, considered one of the great Arviat carvers, was an Inuit artist best known for his carved stone animal caricatures. Miki was born in the Keewatin region of Nunavut just northeast of Arviat, the small town where he would spend the remainder of his life. The Keewatin Inuit rely heavily on caribou for subsistence, but in the late 1950’s when the caribou migration path changed, famine forced Miki and his wife Kahootsuak to resettle in Arviat, formerly called Eskimo Point. Miki said that when he arrived in Eskimo Point, “people thought I was already an old man”.

Although Miki had been carving since he was young, it was in Arviat where his work became popular. A prolific carver, he is most famous for carving two-dimensional animals admired for their pristine naturalism. His mysterious creatures have a true ‘sculptural’ presence but maintain playful personalities. Miki would typically carve his small animals from stones found just outside his home, filing and polishing the stone until the material came to life. His pieces reflect the tough nature of Arviat stone and often bear the raw marks of axes and files.

Born: 1918
Died: 1983