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Baker could be first Native Iditarod champ in decadesThere's a lot riding on a John Baker victory. Try Alaska Native redemption. Rural pride. Inupiat destiny. No pressure, though. A top finish for Baker would make him the first Alaska Native musher in 35 years to win the Iditarod, a race spokesman said. That's ironic, considering the race has its roots in rural mushing. No Inupiaq has ever won it, though the race ends in Inupiat country. Teams on Alaska's skeletal road system have long dominated. A victory for Baker, a Kotzebue musher from Northwest Alaska, would be quite an upset. "This is a historic race, not just from the Iditarod perspective, but for the first time in the history of this race, a musher of Inupiat descent from Western Alaska is about to fulfill our ambitions for our customary and traditional livelihood," said Sheldon Katchatag, an elder from Unalakleet. "This is not a sport. It used to be the only means of transportation." Katchatag is convinced Baker will win. "We are so, so proud of him," said Katchatag, who grew up mushing, especially to collect wood to keep the family's cabin warm. For the first time in all the Iditarods he's seen, Katchatag felt the urge early Sunday to don old-school clothing and welcome a musher to Unalakleet when the race rolled through town. He wore his mom's polar bear boots, his dad's polar bear mittens, a parka with a wolf ruff and a beaver hat. He beat on a traditional drum to welcome Baker to Unalakleet. "I felt the spirit move me to welcome him into Inupiat country. I did that at 5 o' clock in the morning because I identify with him," he said. Baker led Monday morning, but not by much, as he and his pursuers flew into some of the last checkpoints on the southern Seward Peninsula. He left Elim at 8:51 a.m. this morning, 51 minutes ahead of Ramey Smyth, according to the Iditarod Web site. Baker isn't guaranteed victory, but race watchers say he's looking good. Plenty of Western Alaskans are rooting for him. A victory for a Native musher would be big, said longtime Iditarod competitor Mike Williams Sr., a Yup'ik from Akiak. Williams, not racing this year, was in Nome Monday morning, nervously watching the race in hopes that his son, now in 14th place would finish strong. In many years running the Iditarod, William Sr.'s highest finish was 18th. A Baker victory "would do well for all of us in the Native community," said Williams. Natives have been shut out of the championship since 1976, when Jerry Riley of Nenana won, said Chas St. George, Iditarod's public relations director A big hurdle for rural mushers is the expense of maintaining a team -- it's much more costly in the Bush. Many people can't afford to keep a team of dogs, let alone travel to races in faraway cities, said Williams. Mushers in villages spend a lot of their time practicing subsistence too, limiting their training time, he said. They're hunting and fishing to feed their dogs (not to mention their families), because processed dog food shipped in from cities is so expensive. "I been struggling along financially to do this every year. It has been a huge struggle," he said. "I think it's why a majority of those top mushers from other villages are not competing, like from Ambler, Noatak, Akiachak, or from Huslia, where the best dogs are coming from." Community groups should do more to encourage mushing in villages, he said. "People, organizations, businesses, corporations, need to step up to the plate, to ensure our culture and way of life continues," he said. Alaska Natives won three of the first four Iditarods. Emmit Peters made the Iditarod competitive, not just a long campout, setting a record that stood for five years. From Anchorage Daily News archives: "The evolution began in 1975 when rookie Emmitt Peters, an Athabaskan from Ruby on the Yukon River, first turned the Iditarod into a real race. Pushed by Jerry Riley of Nenana, another Interior Athabaskan who would go on to win the Iditarod in 1976, Peters sped the 1,100 miles in 14 days, 14 hours and 43 minutes -- almost 5 days faster than Wilmarth's then-record time." In 1974, Carl Huntington, an Athabascan from Galena, became the Iditarod's second winner and first Native champ.
Thanks, Alex DeMarban, for an excellent article: thoughtful, with a lot of important historical facts. I learned a lot. John Baker, be fast and be safe! May your dogs be swift and ready to meet the crowd in Nome. Mike Williams Jr., you are running an awesome race. So proud of you! |
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