Kelly Fraser (August 8, 1993 – December 24, 2019)^[1] was a Canadian Inuk pop singer and songwriter, whose second album, Sedna, received a Juno Award nomination for Indigenous Music Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2018.^[2]

Born in Igloolik, Fraser moved with her family at a young age to Sanikiluaq, Nunavut.^[1] She was educated at Nunavut Sivuniksavut in Ottawa before completing an indigenous studies program at the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology in British Columbia.^[3] Nunavut Sivuniksavut launched in 1985 and is Canada's oldest and first Inuit post-secondary programme,^[4] where Inuit youth learn about the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement.^[5]

Fraser first attracted widespread attention in 2013 with a series of Inuktitut-language covers of pop songs, most notably Rihanna's "Diamonds", on YouTube.^[6] She released her debut album, Isuma, in 2014.^[6] Her songs include Inuktitut and English language, and musically, combine contemporary pop with traditional Inuit sounds.^[6] Fraser was dedicated to sharing Inuit culture with a widespread audience and raising awareness of present-day issues and Inuit rights; many of these themes feature heavily in her music.^[7][8] Her producer reported that she was working on another album, to be called Decolonize, when she died;^[6][9] crowdfunding for the album was underway at that time.^[6]

Fraser died at her home in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on December 24, 2019, by suicide. According to her family she had suffered through "childhood traumas, racism and persistent cyberbullying".^[6] Several candlelight vigils in her honor were held at The Forks on January 4 and at the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology in Merritt, BC.^[6][10]