Nayokpuk was born in Shishmaref in 1929. He was one of the original mushers to run the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 1973. He also represented Alaska at the presidential inauguration of Ronald Reagan in 1981. He ended up running the Iditarod 11 times. He never won, but he made some notably daring attempts in extreme weather conditions. He suffered a stroke after one race and competed in another despite having just recovered from a heart attack. He was also an accomplished Inupiaq artist.
