The son of a semi-nomadic family, Alootook Ipellie was born in the small hunting camp of Nuvuqquq on Baffin Island.

The Inuit writer, editor, artist and cartoonist grew up in Frobisher Bay, which is now Iqaluit in Nunavut. As a boy, he was inspired by Superman comics.

When he was older, Alootook moved to Ottawa and enrolled in the High School of Commerce. While a student there, he developed the drawing skills that would later make him popular in Canada and across the world.

Living in Ottawa in the 1970s, Alootook was a cartoonist and reporter for the Inuit Monthly. Later, he became the magazine's editor.

His Ice Box cartoons at that time were very popular with the Inuit community. They told the story of the Nook family who were often puzzled by modern culture.

In the 1990s, Alootook created a comic strip called Nuna and Vut, which followed the adventures of two Inuit brothers. Like Ice Box, the cartoons were funny, but they also recognized the tough changes faced by the Inuit.

Like his art, Alootook's poems and stories focused on the struggle to keep Inuit culture alive.

In 1993, he published a book called Arctic Dreams and Nightmares. It was the first collection of short stories and drawings to be published by an Inuit writer.

Recently, he wrote a children's book with David MacDonald called The Inuit Thought of It: Amazing Arctic Innovations. In the book, Alootook and David look at famous Inuit inventions, like the kayak.

The book was a finalist in the 2009 Hackmatack Children's Choice Book Awards. It also made the top 10 list of best books for kids and teens from the:

• Ontario Library Association, and the
• Canadian Children's Book Centre.

Alootook died in Ottawa in 2007.