Davidialuk Alasua Amittu was born in 1910 in Nunagiirniraq Camp, Northern Quebec. A prolific and talented artist, much of his work contains a narrative element, relaying the stories and legends of traditional Inuit culture. 

An indifferent hunter, Davidialuk lived in poverty until he gained recognition as a folk artist near mid-life. Only then could he afford the hunter's indispensable dog team (and later snowmobile). Davidialuk was also a spellbinding storyteller - sharing stories based on legends, myths and of his own invention. These he later translated into stone carvings, prints and drawings. His last creative outpouring suggests an urgent need to articulate his personal view of Inuit history and morals.

His brother, Syollie Awp once made some tapes of Davidialuk's stories and would play them in the local print shop to inspire other artists. 

Davidialuk had a close relationship with his cousin Joe Talirunili and they both produced many sculptures in the 1950s and graphics in the 1960s. Both men enjoyed long and fruitful careers, and passed away within months of each other in 1976.

Davidialuk is the father to Puvirnituq artists Johnny Amituk and Aisa Amittu. His wife, Maina Aqurtu Assappa was a carver. Davidialuk's brother is Syollie Awp, and his nephew is Davidee Anutigirk, who are also artists in Puvirnituq.

Exhibitions

• A Memorial Show of Prints by Davidialuk, Snow Goose Associates
• An Enduring Tradition: Inuit Carving from Arctic Quebec, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Arctic Mirror, Canadian Museum of Civilization
• Arctic Quebec Print Collection *74, (annual collection)
• Arctic Quebec Print Collection II *74, (annual collection)
• Arctic Quebec Sculpture, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Arctic Spirit 35 Years of Canadian Inuit Art, Frye Art Museum
• Arctic Values '65, New Brunswick Museum with the cooperation of the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs
• Arctic Vision: Art of the Canadian Inuit, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Canadian Arctic Producers
• By the Light of the Qulliq: Eskimo Life in the Canadian Arctic, Smithsonian Institution, A travelling exhibition of Inuit art from the Feheley Collection
• Canadian Eskimo Art: a representative exhibition from the collection of Professor and Mrs. Philip Gray, Fine Arts Gallery, Montana State University
• Contemporary Inuit Drawings, Macdonald Stewart Art Centre
• Contemporary Inuit Drawings, Muscarelle Museum of Art College of William and Mary
• Crafts from Arctic Canada/Artisanat de l'arctique canadien, Canadian Eskimo Arts Council
• Daviadialuk Alasuaq: Inuit Artist of Northern Quebec, Ministere des affaires culturelles du Quebec
• Davidee Alasuaq: Artiste Inuit du Nouveau-Quebec, Tuttavik
• Davidialuk Memorial Exhibition, The Guild Shop
• Die Kunst aus der Arktis, Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Ottawa, presented by Commerzbank
• Drawings and Sculpture by Joe Talirunili and Davidialuk Amittu, The Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art
• Early Masterpieces of Inuit Sculpture, Feheley Fine Arts
• Eskimo Art in Northern Quebec, presented by La Federation des Cooperatives du Nouveau-Quebec at "Man and His World"
• Eskimo Carvings and Prints from the Collection of York University, Art Gallery of York University
• Eskimo Fantastic Art, Gallery 111, School of Art, University of Manitoba
• Eskimo Narrative, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Eskimo Sculpture and Prints, Hartford National Bank, From the Inuit Art Collection of Mr. and Mrs. James F. Bacon
• Espaces Inuit, Maison Hamel-Bruneau
• Esquimaux, Peuple du Quebec, Musee du Quebec
• Exhibition of Inuit Art, Harbourfront Centre organized by the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, Guelph
• Exhibition of Inuit Art, Glenhyrst Art Gallery organized by the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, Guelph
• Granville Island Canadian Inuit Sculpture Exhibition (first exhibition), Vancouver Inuit Art Society
• Grasp Tight the Old Ways: Selections from the Klamer Family Collection of Inuit Art, Art Gallery of Ontario
• Hunter of the Sacred Game: Traditional Life on the Land, Organized by the Arts and Learning Services Foundation
• Hunters of Old, Inukshuk Galleries Inc.
• Im Schatten der Sonne: Zeitgenossische Kunst der Indianer und Eskimos in Kanada/In the Shadow of the Sun: Contemporary Indian and Inuit Art in Canada, Canadian Museum of Civilization
• Immaginario Inuit Arte e cultura degli esquimesi canadesi, Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea
• Inuit Art in the 1970s, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, and the Agnes Etherington Art Centre
• Inuit Art: Tradition and Regeneration, Canadian Museum of Civilization
• Inuit Drawings, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Inuit Graphics from the Collection of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Musee des beaux-arts de Montreal
• Inuit Master Artists of the 1970s, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Inuit Masterworks: Selections from the Collection of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, McMichael Canadian Collection
• Inuit Myths, Legends and Songs, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Inuit Survival, Enook Galleries, Waterloo, Ontario Presented at the University of Waterloo Art Gallery
• Inuit Woman: Life and Legend in Art, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• La deesse inuite de la mer/The Inuit Sea Goddess, Musee des beaux-arts de Montreal
• La Vie et l'Oeuvre de Davidialuk Alasuaq, Musee du Quebec
• Le Quebec, 30 ans de presence en milieu nordique, Complex H (a provincial government building)
• Les Inuit du Nouveau-Quebec, Musee du Quebec
• Masterwork Sculpture 1985, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Multiple Realities: Inuit Images of Shamanic Transformation, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Mythmakers: Davidialuk and Talirunili, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Noel au Chateau - Art inuit de la collection Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, Macdonald Stewart Art Centre Guelph, Ontario presented at Chateau Dufresne
• Northern Exposure: Inuit Images of Travel, Burnaby Art Gallery
• Oral Tradition, National Museum of Man
• Originale Inuit Tegninger: Selections from the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, Guelph, Canada, Musikhuset
• Povungnituk, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Povungnituk Print Collection *62, (annual collection)
• Povungnituk Print Collection *64, (annual collection)
• Povungnituk Print Collection *65, (annual collection)
• Povungnituk Print Collection *66, (annual collection)
• Povungnituk Print Collection *68, (annual collection)
• Povungnituk Print Collection *69 (for catalogue see Povungnituk Prints 1960-1970 Retrospective), (annual collection)
• Povungnituk Print Collection *72, (annual collection)
• Povungnituk Print Collection *73, (annual collection)
• Povungnituk Print Collection *75, (annual collection)
• Povungnituk Print Collection *76, (annual collection)
• Povungnituk Print Collection *77, (annual collection)
• Povungnituk Print Collection *78, (annual collection)
• Povungnituk Print Collection *82, (annual collection)
• Prints from Povungnituk 1962-1988, Albers Gallery of Inuit Art
• Return of the Birds, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Sanaugasi Takujaksat: A Travelling Celebration of Inuit Sculpture, Presented by Canadian Arctic Producers Ltd., with the assistance of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Ottawa
• Sculpture by Davidialuk, Fleet Gallery
• Sculpture in Miniature, Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec
• Sculpture of the Inuit: Lorne Balshine Collection/Lou Osipov Collection/ Dr. Harry Winrob Collection, Surrey Art Gallery
• Sculpture of the Inuit: Masterwork Exhibitors of the Canadian Arctic, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Sculpture/Inuit: Masterworks of the Canadian Arctic, Canadian Eskimo Arts Council
• Selections from the Toronto-Dominion Collection of Eskimo Art, National Arts Centre
• Small Sculpture from Across the Arctic, The Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art
• Sojourns to Nunavut: Contemporary Inuit Art from Canada, at Bunkamura Art Gallery, presented by the University of British Columbia Museum of Anthropology and The McMichael Canadian Art Collection
• Spirits and Shamans/Esprits et chamans, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
• Spoken in Stone: an exhibition of Inuit Art, Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies
• Stones, Bones, Cloth, and Paper: Inuit Art in Edmonton Collections, Edmonton Art Gallery
• Stories in Stone: Soapstone Sculptures From Northern Quebec and Kenya, La Federation des Cooperatives du Nouveau-Quebec
• Takamit - Canadian Eskimo Art: Selections from Private Collections and the Government of Canada, Organized by La Federation des Cooperatives du Nouveau-Quebec and the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University
• The Arctic/L'Artique, UNESCO
• The Art of the Eskimo, Simon Fraser Gallery, Simon Fraser University
• The Coming and Going of the Shaman: Eskimo Shamanism and Art, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• The Early Years - Fifties and Sixties, The Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art
• The Early Years: Sculpture from the 50's and 60's, The Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art
• The Eskimo Art Collection of the Toronto-Dominion Bank, Toronto-Dominion Bank
• The First Passionate Collector: The Ian Lindsay Collection of Inuit Art, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• The Inuit Amautik: I Like My Hood To Be Full, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• The Inuit Imagination, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• The Inuit Print/L'estampe inuit, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and the National Museum of Man
• The Inuit Sea Goddess, Surrey Art Gallery, (organized to complement the Musee des beaux-arts de Montreal exhibit of the same name)
• The Jacqui and Morris Shumiatcher Collection of Inuit Art, Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery, University of Regina
• The Oral Tradition, National Museum of Man
• The Spirit of the Land, The Koffler Gallery
• The Swinton Collection of Inuit Art, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Things Made by Inuit, La Federation des Cooperatives du Nouveau-Quebec
• Ulu/Inua: Form and Fantasy in Eskimo Art, Casino Gallery, Ravinia Park
• Uumajut: Animal Imagery in Inuit Art, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Winnipeg Collects: Inuit Art from Private Collections, Winnipeg Art Gallery

Collections

• Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Queen's University, Kingston
• Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria
• Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
• Art Gallery of York University, Downsview
• Avataq Cultural Institute, Montreal
• Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa
• Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec, Montreal
• Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull
• CIBC Collection, Toronto
• Dennos Museum Center, Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City
• Eskimo Museum, Churchill
• Fitzgerald Collection, Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, Banff
• Glenbow Museum, Calgary
• James and Mary Jack Collection, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana
• Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, Guelph
• McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg
• Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon
• Musee d'Art Contemporain de Montreal, Montreal
• Musee de la civilisation, Quebec City
• Musee des beaux-arts de Montreal, Montreal
• Musee du Quebec, Quebec City
• Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
• National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
• New Brunswick Museum, Saint John
• Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto
• Saputik Museum, Povungnituk
• Toronto-Dominion Bank Collection, Toronto
• Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, Banff
• Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg
• York University, Toronto

Publications

• KAROO ASHEVAK 1940-1974 — Sculpture, Author: Upstairs Gallery, Publication: Winnipeg: The Upstairs Gallery. (1977)