As Iditarod Has Changed, So Has Its Relationship With Its Native Roots, Mushers Say

Man in black baseball hat and black puffy jacket standing on a busy Anchorage street.

Longtime Bethel musher Pete Kaiser surmises it’s become more difficult for some in smaller, rural communities to manage an Iditarod-caliber team. “It’s really not a hobby or anything else, it’s a lifestyle, and it requires my time 365 days a year. And when you have other things going on like family and kids, you kind of need a job to support this job. It gets very complicated.”

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Talking Inupiaq

Inside KNOM studios, Josie Bourdon and Annie Conger record Inupiaq language lesson spots at KNOM with volunteer producer Lauren Frost.

KNOM listeners are learning the Alaska Native language of Inupiaq, one phrase at a time, thanks to Nome elementary teachers Annie Conger and Josie Bourdon and producer Lauren Frost.

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