Aul Okalik was born in Pangnirtung, on Baffin Island, Nunavut. After being called to the Northwest Territories bar, he served as Premier of the Government of Nunavut from 1999 to 2008. Since then, he has held cabinet positions in charge of several ministries including Justice, Culture and Heritage, Qulliq Energy Corporation, Immigration, Labour, Languages, and the Liquor Licensing Board.
Louis McComber lived in Iqaluit, Nunavut, from 1993 to 2005 and quickly became captivated by the process of the creation of Nunavut, the third Canadian Arctic territory.
He was a journalist for the French-language weekly l'Aquilon and the CBC North Boréal Hebdo radio show, and wrote a bi-monthly column of political and cultural commentary in Nunatsiaq News. Louis McComber holds an MA in anthropology and has recently lectured in the First Peoples' program at the University du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue.