Born around 1786, Akaitcho was a leader of the Yellowknives, whose traditional area stretched from the East Arm of Great Slave Lake northward to the Coppermine River. Akaitcho and the Yellowknives traded furs, meat and fish for European goods at the North West Company trading post at Fort Providence (on the North Arm of Great Slave Lake).

Akaitcho met Captain John Franklin in July 1820, and agreed to guide Franklin to the shores of the Arctic Ocean. A year later, Akaitcho delivered Franklin's party to the Coppermine River, just south of the arctic coast. Akaitcho truly endeared himself to Franklin, when a group of Yellowknives rescued Franklin's party following their difficult return journey from the coast. Near starvation, Franklin and his men were brought to Akaitcho's camp, where in Franklin's words, the chief "shewed us the most friendly hospitality and all sorts of personal attention, even to cooking for us with his own hands, an office he never performs for himself."

Akaitcho's aggressive leadership often brought the Yellowknives into conflict with the neighbouring Dogribs. The two groups were involved in a prolonged period of warfare, which didn't end until 1829, when Akaitcho made peace with the Dogrib chief Edzo.

Akaitcho passed away in the spring of 1838. According to oral history, he is buried on an island in Yellowknife Bay.