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Alaska Native corporations are giving money to Native mushers so they can compete at the top levels of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Musher John Baker of Kotzebue said the sponsorship money he receives from NANA Regional Corp. and the Arctic Slope Regional Corp. allows him to buy the best dogs and the finest equipment. "It definitely helps," said Baker, 37, an Eskimo who has a kennel of 37 dogs. Baker is one of a handful of Native mushers among the 81 teams entered in this year's Iditarod, which begins Saturday in Anchorage. In the last two years, he has posted top-10 finishes in the 1,100-mile race from Anchorage to Nome. He said the financial support is essential for Native mushers, particularly those who live off the road system and have to pay more to get dog food and other supplies to their kennels. Baker said it takes at least $30,000 a year to enter a competitive team in the Iditarod. If there is a key dog out there he needs to complete his team, he has the money to buy it, he said. "It would be difficult without support," Baker said. "I can feed them the best possible foods ... that is essential to winning. The sleds, booties, any equipment I have is the best equipment I can get." Jacob Adams, president of Barrow-based Arctic Slope, said last year Baker received between $20,000 and $30,000 from two of the corporation's subsidiaries. For the past few years, Baker also has received between $20,000 and $25,000 a year from the joint venture between NANA Regional Corp. in Kotzebue and Cominco Alaska Inc., which operates the Red Dog Mine, said NANA chief executive Charlie Curtis. The money is essential if Native mushers are going to compete to win the race, he said. Even if they don't win, Native mushers send a message to village children everywhere to pursue their dreams. Baker has shown NANA, which last year had revenue of $140 million, that he's committed to doing his best. "He has his heart into it," Curtis said. "If a Native wants to fulfill a dream, we have to provide the resources to make it happen." For several years musher Russell Lane, a 32-year-old Eskimo from Point Hope, has been getting money from Arctic Slope, said Adams, whose corporation had revenue of $865 million in 1998. Lane got $75,000 from the corporation in 1999, he said. "He bought some dogs, some of the blood lines of the better racers," Adams said. That includes purchases over the past two years from Baker, three-time Iditarod winner Jeff King and others to improve his 80-dog kennel in the North Slope village. The money is proving well-spent. As a rookie, Lane finished 31st in the 1999 Iditarod. In this year's Klondike 300, he came in third. Adams said Natives in the Iditarod remind their people the important role dog mushing once had in the villages. Lane and Baker also serve as excellent role models, spending part of their time traveling to villages and schools to talk to Native children, he said. "We felt that this was the right move to encourage other Native mushers and the younger people growing up. ... They want to be up there racing dogs," Adams said. "We are looking forward to continuing the sponsorship. It will go a long ways to helping others get interested in dog mushing."
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