Local profile

From aches after berry-picking to back problems from hauling caribou, Lewis Pagel says he's probably treated at least half the Kotzebue’s residents.

“In the lower 48, there's a common saying, ‘it takes a village,’” Woods said. “But no other athlete had to grow up the way I grew up. They don't know what it's like to be out at 40-below and chase caribou.”

Foster said his business has grown so fast, it's sometimes difficult to keep up. He still roasts his beans using a small machine that can only handle one pound of beans at a time. Occasionally he gets larger orders from the Red Dog Mine that take several days to fill. He said it’s tough with some of his injuries and working his feet for 12 hours at a time.

Rookie musher Jessi Downey spent part of her childhood in the Northwest Arctic and was the only Iñupiaq woman in the race. In fact, she might be just the second Iñupiaq woman musher in the race’s more than 30-year history.

As part of the WEIO pageant, Madison showcased her traditional Iñupiaq dancing, while drummers played along.

For one Iñupiaq woman, hearing the words doctor next to her name was emotional: Her response to passing her dissertation defense went viral this month after hundreds of thousands of people watched her reaction.

Wilfried Kuugauraq Zibell said he applied for the Rhodes Scholarship because he wanted to continue his studies of cultural displacement and efforts to revitalize culture.