George Attla

George Attla (August 8, 1933 – February 15, 2015) was a celebrated sprint dog musher from the Interior village of Huslia, known as the "Huslia Hustler." Over his distinguished career spanning from 1958 to 2011, Attla secured ten Fur Rendezvous World Championship sprint dog titles in Anchorage and clinched eight Open North American Championship titles in Fairbanks. Despite a difficult childhood, marked by extended stays away from his family for schooling and hospitalization, Attla's prowess as a "dog man" and his victories resonated with the small Native communities of the Far North, becoming a source of inspiration for thousands of Alaskans.Arriving as an unknown competitor for the 1958 Fur Rendezvous, Attla, handicapped by a fused leg resulting from childhood tuberculosis, surprised racing enthusiasts by claiming his first world title. Racing at the forefront for three decades, he continued to dominate the sprint championships, earning his last Anchorage crown in 1982. Attla's compelling rivalry with Roland "Doc" Lombard, a veterinarian from Wayland, Mass., during the peak of the sprint championships made them the best-known athletes in Alaska, drawing thousands of fans. Attla's influence extended to the inaugural Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 1973, where he was among the first entrants, finishing in fifth place. His life and achievements were encapsulated in the 1993 book "George Attla: The Legend of the Sled-dog Trail" by Lewis Freedman.Attla died on February 15, 2015, succumbing to B-cell lymphoma. His legacy endures through various honors, including the declaration of April 29 as George Attla Day by the governor of Alaska, Steve Cowper, on April 25, 1998. Additionally, he was the central figure in the film "Spirit of the Wind" and served as an inspiration for the 2017 single "You Got to Run (Spirit of the Wind)," a collaboration between Buffy Sainte-Marie and Tanya Tagaq.<ul><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hux5B_5LAto">George Attla winning 1975 Open North American</a> (Youtube)</li></ul>

George Attla

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