Kiviaq

Growing up in Edmonton, Kiviaq took to boxing to defend himself against racially motivated abuse from other children. In 1955, aged 19, he became the first Inuk to play on the Edmonton Eskimos football team. However, Kiviaq never played a regular-season game: before the season started, he had an accidental slip on the wet field which was followed by concurrent hits from three opposing players. However, despite his severe injuries, he subsequently made a full recovery. He later won a scholarship to play football at Northwestern State College in Louisiana. He was still eligible to play college ball because he had never earned a salary playing for the Eskimos. ==Health==

Kiviaq had Ménière's disease, and for much of his life was unable to travel on an airplane or be a passenger in a vehicle without becoming ill. However, by 2009, surgeries to treat his cancer also resulted in him no longer being afflicted by travel sickness. He battled cancer for many years until he died on April 24, 2016, in an Edmonton hospice. ==Documentary==

He is the subject of the documentary film Kiviaq vs. Canada, by award-winning producer Zacharias Kunuk. ==See also==