kenojuak ashevak was born in an igloo in an inuit camp, ikirasaq, at the southern coast of baffin island. her father, ushuakjuk, an inuit hunter and fur trader, and her mother, silaqqi, named kenojuak after silaqqi's deceased father. according to this inuit naming tradition, the love and respect that had been accorded to her during her lifetime would now pass on to their daughter. kenojuak also had a brother and a sister.