Henry was born at Tavani, north of Arviat, and grew up living in camps out on the land. He was known as a successful trapper, but he also began to carve when he lived on the land, and only occasionally visited the settlement of Arviat to trade fur and carvings. He moved to settle permanently in Arviat in the mid-1960s. Henry worked with a variety of material including stone and whalebone, and his sculptures are often finely detailed and carefully crafted. Henry’s wife, Akupirniq Isluanik, is also an artist.