Napachie was born to an artistic Inuit family at Sako, a traditional Inuit camp on Baffin Island, Nunavut. She is the daughter of one of Inuit art's most important figures, Pitseolak Pootoogook and is the aunt of Shuvinia Ashoona. Napachie lived in an igloo with them, travelled nomadically, and wore clothing her mother made from caribou skins. In 1965 she and her artist husband Eegyvudluk Pootoogook settled in Cape Dorset.

Her art offers a glimpse of reality into the traditional and the modern Inuit world. In her lifetime, she made over 4000 drawings. With the support of the artists coop and with sales of her art she was able to support the family after her husband went blind and had to stop print making. Shortly before she passed away in 2002 she had been experimenting with life drawing and communicated her belief in Christianity. Her belief in the second coming of Christ is catured in her original ink drawing on Redkettle Art. It is a very joyful work that comes with her writing at the bottom of the composition.