Nunavut carver recruited by pro soccer league to create awards

Even as a kid, Ruben Komangapik liked to play soccer. But he never got picked to play on the school team.

So when the Canadian Premier League, a professional soccer league, recruited him to join a special team he was more than ready to sign on.

The walrus represents the Defender of the Year award, because it is considered one of the toughest ocean creatures, feared even by polar bears and killer whales. (Photo courtesy of Canadian Premier League)

Komangapik, originally from Pond Inlet, is a professional artist known for his mixed medium sculptures and metalwork jewelry, as well as performance and new media creations.

In September, the league announced he had been selected to carve the statues for its two new annual player awards to be handed out starting in 2022.

Each year afterward, he will carve new ones for that year’s winners. Five other league award statues were also created by Inuit carvers from Kinngait.

Working with the league and with Canada Soccer, the sport’s governing body, has been a positive experience, and a collaborative one too, said Komangapik.

He said he and league representatives worked together in coming up with an identity for his statues. He believes the league is genuinely invested in celebrating Canada and Canadian talent.

“Instead of buying trophies, like ready-made ones or whatever, they are really emphasizing the Canadian stuff,” he said. “Even their jerseys are made in Canada.”

In a media release June 21, which is National Indigenous People’s Day, the league stated its commitment to recognize and support Canada’s Indigenous communities.

“Guided by the five sport-related calls to action outlined in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Final Report in 2015, we are committed to listening, learning and advocating for more accessible and equitable sport, physical activity and recreational opportunities for Indigenous people,” it said.

Komangapik, who now lives in Quebec but still considers himself a Nunavut resident, has another tie to soccer and to the league. Its first match was played in 2019 at the stadium at Toronto’s York University, which is also the site of one of the artist’s largest public art pieces.

The muskox represents the Players’ Player of the Year award winner, a nod to their shared role as leader of the pack. (Photo courtesy of Canadian Premier League)

Unveiled in a ceremony on National Indigenous Peoples Day in 2016, Ahqahizu is a 26-tonne granite statue that depicts a young Inuk soccer player in an Alaskan high-kick position, kicking a walrus skull.

The piece was crafted in partnership with fellow Inuit carver Koomautak (Kuzy) Curley, who noted at the unveiling that the sculpture was intended not only to celebrate Inuit culture but also to inspire to Inuit students to persevere.

Komangapik said he feels the same way about soccer, and the award statues. He hopes other young Inuit soccer players get inspired to watch and play the game like he did when he was younger.

“I think it would be pretty cool if Inuit kids started playing soccer and actually winning these trophies,” he said. “That would be the best.”