In 1946, Germaine Arnaktauyok was born in Igloolik, Northwest Territories. Germaine went to school in Chesterfield Inlet, NWT and Churchill, Manitoba. Her fine art training began at the university of Manitoba under the tutelage of George Swinton. Since that time she has studied at the Algonquin College in Ottawa and completed a print making course sponsored by the Arctic College in Iqaluit and Arts Induvik Canada, including studies with a master printer in Montreal, Quebec.

Germaine's imagery strongly reflects her cultural roots, and her pieces specifically explore the myth and folklore of canada's northern people, her ancestors. In particular, she is proud of her illustrations for a comic strip version of the stories of Qiviuq, an inuit mythical hero figure similar to Ulysses. Five original works have been purchased for Art from the Arctic, a multinational-touring exhibition from the northern circumpolar countries.

Usually Germaine will work in pen and ink, using coloured pencils to add highlights and detail to her drawings. Her work has graced many children's books for the Baffin Divisional Board of Education. She has also completed work for Hyperion Press in Winnipeg and for Nick Nicol, a Canadian author who is widely published in Japan. As well, she added illustrations to Canada: North of Sixty, a coffee table book depicting life and experience in the Canadian North.

Her other original works hang in many private, corporate and public collections including the Canadian Museum of Civilization and the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre.

When not illustrating, she travels north america with the Amway Masters of Arctic Exhibition, giving demonstrations of a technique known as stencil printing at such locations as the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago and the Dallas Museum of Natural History. She's in great demand as galleries throughout the continent have made offers to show her original works and limited edition prints.