2008 Native Youth Olympics Photo Gallery

Photos and Text
by Roy Corral/Alaska Newspapers

April 29, 2008 at 10:43AM AKST

Within cavernous Sullivan Arena in Anchorage, age-old games were held during three days of rugged skills competitions from April 24 – 26.

The Native Youth Olympics, which began in 1972, reflects Alaska’s rich cultural heritage and shadows traditional ways of testing a hunter’s survival skills that require strength, agility, balance and endurance.

Throughout the year, more than 500 students from schools across Alaska practice events such as the Eskimo Stick Pull, a game of strength that tests a hunter’s ability to pull a seal out of the water; the One-Hand Reach that tests a kayaker’s body control during precarious situations; or the Wrist Carry, which tests a hunter’s ability to carry game over long distances.

In the true spirit of NYO, participants this year could not be deterred by the late spring record snowfall that caused havoc in the Anchorage bowl and threatened to close the competitions. Instead, an old record was broken in the Wrist Carry, and proved the mettle of those who came to play the games.

The following photographic gallery offers a glimpse of the true grit of today’s Alaska Native youth displayed through thousands of years of cultural traditions.