Fairbanks and WEIO

WEIO stands for World Eskimo-Indian Olympics.  We had seen these would be held in Fairbanks and planned to be there.  While in Barrow we heard more about it.  The event lasts 4 days but we attended only one and it was great.

Each event is an exercise that develops strength, endurance, agility or any combination.  These are all exercises that were and are used in the native villages to stay in shape during long winter months so when spring and hunting time comes the villagers are physically ready.  We saw the men's and women's stick pull, the two foot high kick, the ear pull, native dancing and women's blanket toss.  More on each later.  One aspect of the events is the culture they come from.  It is important for the survival of the village that everyone succeed.  So during the events if one athlete is struggling with the event the other athletes will come over and talk through the mechanics of the event, verbally encourage them and cheer them on as they attempt the event.  Don't get me wrong, each athlete wanted to win but they also wanted to see their competitors succeed. This is very different from what we normally see in competitions.  Back in the villages when one hunter or whaler is successful they share the harvest with the village. No hunter or whaler goes out to kill, instead it is believed that if the person is respectful and honors the animal it will give itself to the hunter and the village.  If the body of the animal is respected and well used the spirit of the animal will tell other and they will give themselves as well.   It is not an ownership thing, it is a survival thing.

Another part of the culture is the elders.  The term senior citizen is not used.  Elders are not only respected but are honored.  As various people spoke from the podium they would introduce themselves and tell their parents and grandparents names with pride. OK enough of that, lets get to some pics...

Stick pull simulates grabbing a live salmon

The blanket toss is done as a celebration of a successful whale harvest.  They asked for volunteers, so I did.  50 of us held onto to an old whale skin with rope handles.  I looked kind of like a trampoline but no bungees, just rope. The a contestant would get on the middle of the blanket and we would toss them as high as we could.  The winning jump was based on height, coordination and landing upright.  It was hard work but what a blast!