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Coaching the next generation of Indigenous skiers

A group of children bundling up for winter weather, pose with their ski equipment and ski instructor.
Courtesy of Skiku
The Skiku team traveled to several Interior villages along the Yukon River – Grayling, Anvik, Shageluk and Holy Cross — to teach kids skiing.

As climate change and historic inequities continue to create barriers to outdoor recreation, one skiing nonprofit in rural Alaska is working to help Indigenous people hit the trails. Coaches from the nonprofit Skiku recently traveled to several Interior villages on the banks of the Yukon River.

Nathan Elswick is the First Chief of Anvik. “Nowadays, a lot of the kids are stuck to the screens,” Elswick said. “Hopefully, we could pick up skiing for our students, and just getting our kids more involved, and just that extra time outside.”

Based at Alaska Desk partner station KNBA in Anchorage, Alena Naiden focuses on rural and Indigenous communities in the Arctic and around the state.