Simon Ooleekatelik (b.1942) was born near Gjoa Haven, but his parents moved to the Taloyoak area in 1962. He spent 1959-60 in a hospital in Edmonton where he made his first carvings. He continued to carve when he returned to the community. He is also a skilled carpenter. He is an Elder who participated in the World Wildlife Fund “Witness to Climate Change” project. His work was included in the major WAG exhibition and catalogue, “Art and Expression of the Netsilik” in 1997.

Ooleekatelik’s human figures, with expressive faces and bodies, are usually engaged in activities such as hunting or dancing. To emphasize the activity of his pieces, he includes implements made from caribou antler, muskox horn, or sinew. He has made a number of carvings with the unique subject of a heart (in lighter stone) suspended within the chest cavity of a human figure.