Reneltta Arluk

April 07, 2026

Reneltta Arluk, D.Litt., is Inuvialuk, Gwich’in and Denesuline, Cree from the Northwest Territories, raised by her grandparents on the trap-line until school age. This early nomadic life provided Reneltta with the unique skill set to become the multi-disciplinary nomadic performing arts artist she is. In 2008, she founded Akpik Theatre, the only professional Indigenous Theatre company existing from the Northwest Territories. Adhering to its namesake, the cloudberry, Akpik Theatre strives to flourish in the northern climate it reflects by developing, mentoring and producing performance-based work that is northern Indigenous-inspired and created.

In 2005, she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Acting degree from the University of Alberta, becoming the first Indigenous woman and first Inuk to graduate from the reputable program. For over twenty years, Reneltta has been part of or initiated the creation of Indigenous Theatre across Canada and overseas. She became the first Inuk and Indigenous woman to direct at The Stratford Festival. There, Reneltta was the recipient of The Festival’s 2017 Tyrone Guthrie – Derek F. Mitchell Artistic Director’s Award as Director of The Breathing Hole by Governor General Award-winning playwright, Colleen Murphy. She also directed this monumentous play at the National Arts Centre in 2023 with support from both English and Indigenous Theatre. Reneltta recently received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Alberta in 2024 for her continued contributions to the “decolonization of cultural institutions that has led to a fundamental shift in Indigenous-Settler relations in major Canadian cultural institutions.” It is through life experience and training that give Reneltta the unique cultural and artistic Indigenous lens from which she works. Dr. Reneltta Arluk is currently Senior Manager for Policy, Protocols and Strategic Initiatives of Indigenous Ways & Decolonization at the National Gallery of Canada. There, she brings Indigenous-centred worldviews into the Gallery’s policy making, and supports engagement with Indigenous communities that encompass the Indigenous five value system of: Respect, Relevance, Responsibility, Relationality, and Reciprocity.