From Babiche Webbing to Kevlar Runners—An Intro to Alaska Dog Mushing History - US Department of the Interior - Alaska From Babiche Webbing to Kevlar Runners—An Intro to Alaska Dog Mushing History
When Russian and then American pioneers moved into the Alaska frontier, they found a culture already greatly shaped and supported by its interaction with dogs. Alfred H. Brooks, the head of the US Geological Survey (and for whom the Brooks Range is named), wrote at the beginning of the twentieth century: “Countless generations of Alaskan natives have used the dog for transport, and he is to Alaska what the yak is to India or the llama to Peru.”
Before contact with the Russians in 1732, Inupiaq and Yup’ik peoples of the Bering Straits had already adapted their masterfully designed wood latticed and gut-skin covered kayaks into an over-the-snow craft, minus the skin but plus ski-like runners to glide over snow when pulled by dogs. The average team was three dogs, with their master running ahead to guide their dogs between villages, fish camps, and hunting camps. Unlike today, teams were harnessed like a fan, with no leader.