At the time of his birth, his people, the Nunamiut Inupiat, were in a period of exile following the turbulent years around the turn of the century which saw them driven from their home territories by a combination of famine and disease.

After spending a number of years in the Barter Island area along the Beaufort Sea coast, the Mekianas became part of a movement of Nunamiut families back to their ancestral homeland in the north central Brooks Range. They returned inland to stay in 1939, moving to the Killk River valley where Justus's maternal grandfather, Maptigaq Morry, had  lived as a young man and was now the umialik, or leader, of the newly re-established Killik River band of Nunamiut.

Justus grew up through his teens and into his early manhood in the Killik area, raised up in his people's traditional nomadic lifestyle to be a self-sufficient hunter and trapper. Under the careful tutelage of his father and grandfather he was solidly schooled in the old ways of hunting, trapping, fishing and making a living from the land.  He also grew into a highly skilled craftsman and is now one of the very last men in the village still engaged in the crafting of traditional implements.

Having grown up at a time when the Nunamiut oral tradition was still vibrant and strong, it was expected that Justus would learn the old stories and songs that the Nunamiut have told and sung for countless generations.  Today he is recognized in his own community as the keeper of the oral tradition, and more widely afield as a story-teller and entertainer of some note who has appeared in the Bumbershoot Literary and Arts Festival in Seattle, Washington, as well as giving performances in Fairbanks and Anchorage, Alaska.

Among his other accomplishments he was, for a number of years, the Inupiaq language and culture teacher at the local school, as well as playing an important role in the origin of the well known Anaktuvuk Pass caribou skin masks- the primary and trademark craft item of the community.  It was he who innovated the use of the wooden mask mold which allowed the mass production of the masks,  and today he remains one of the premier mask makers.

He has worked with internationally renowned linguists to help publish a book of traditional stories recorded in the 1940’s by Helge  Ingstad, a noted Norwegian author and explorer.  Additionally he has worked closely with James Nageak, formerly of the University of Alaska’s Alaska Native Language Center, in the production of an authoritative Inupiaq Language Dictionary.  Of no less importance is his close involvement with the Simon Paneak Memorial Museum in the role of a highly valued resource person who assists in the recording of traditional knowledge and the production of educational units

Overall his depth of knowledge, skill at handcrafts and natural ability as a teacher, coupled with his willingness to pass on the traditional knowledge and ways of his people, are especially valued and appreciated not only in his home community but also among people across the North Slope.