'Loved and cherished' Inuk singer-songwriter Kelly Fraser remembered following her death

The award-winning musician was an advocate for Indigenous rights and blended pop themes with traditional music.

Kelly Fraser arrives on the red carpet at the Juno Awards, Sunday, March, 25, 2018, in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

Kelly Fraser arrives on the red carpet at the Juno Awards, Sunday, March, 25, 2018, in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP) Source: The Canadian Press

Award-winning Inuk singer-songwriter Kelly Fraser has died at the age of 26.

Ms Fraser was born in Sanikiluaq, Nunavut, Canada and first rose to fame with her rendition of Rihanna’s Diamonds in Inuktitut, her native language.

The respected artist was an advocate for Indigenous rights, and blended pop music with traditional Inuk themes.

Ms Fraser's family has declined to release the details of her death.

Fans have turned to social media to pay tribute to the role Ms Fraser played in breaking down stereotypes and for her work as a role model for many young Inuks.
A gofundme page created to raise funds for Ms Fraser's funeral has already accumulated more than $41,000.

Ms Fraser’s album Sedna was released in 2017 and nominated for Indigenous music album of the year at Canada’s Juno music awards.

Ms Fraser had said the album was designed to highlight the destruction of colonisation and stress the importance of healing wounds with the Indigenous community.

The young artist's agent, Thor Simonsen, told the Associated Press Ms Fraser performed songs in her traditional language to make music as accessible as possible to all people.

The 26-year-old had been working on her third album, Decolonise, at the time of her death.


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Published 29 December 2019 7:54pm
Updated 29 December 2019 8:05pm
By SBS News
Source: SBS


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