Herbie_Nayokpuk

Herbie Nayokpuk

Herbie Nayokpuk

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Herbie Nayokpuk (June 12, 1929 – December 2, 2006)[1] (Iñupiaq pronunciation: Niiqpaq) nicknamed the "Shishmaref Cannonball", was an Inupiaq musher, known for his cheerful and straight-ahead demeanor[2] It is said that "no musher in Iditarod history has been more admired, more respected or better liked than Herbie Nayokpuk."[3]

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Life and career

Nayokpuk was born in Shishmaref in 1929. He was one of the original mushers to run the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 1973.[5] He also represented Alaska at the presidential inauguration of Ronald Reagan in 1981.[5] He ended up running the Iditarod 11 times.[6] He never won, but he made some notably daring attempts in extreme weather conditions. He suffered a stroke after one race and competed in another despite having just recovered from a heart attack.[6] He was also an accomplished Inupiaq artist.[7]

Death and legacy

Nayokpuk died at the age of 77 at the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage, Alaska after suffering a massive stroke at his home in mid-November and then lapsing into a coma.[2] He is buried in Shishmaref.[6] Each year since 2007, an Iditarod musher is awarded with the "Herbie Nayokpuk Memorial Award", which goes to the musher "who best epitomizes Herbie Nayokpuk's spirit of mushing the Iditarod"[8]

References

  1. [1]
    "Herbie Nayokpuk, legendary sledder, dies at 77".
  2. [2]
    "Herbie Nayokpuk". Sled Dog Central. Vega Discoveries, LLC. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  3. [3]
    "Herbie Nayokpuk: 'Cannonball' commanded respect". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  4. [4]
    "Musher Career Summary - Herbie Nayokpuk". Iditarod.com. Iditarod. 13 January 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  5. [5]
    "HERBERT "HERBIE" NAYOKPUK". Project Jukebox. Digital Branch of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Oral History Program. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  6. [6]
    "Herbie Nayokpuk, legendary sledder, dies at 77". Indianz.com. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  7. [7]
    Tuk Nayokpuk, Miranda (4 February 2020). "Art Analysis: Herbie Nayokpuk Inupiaq Art". Indigenous Voice. Wordpress. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  8. [8]
    "Aaron Burmeister honored with Iditarod award inspired by Herbie Nayokpuk". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
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