NANA
NYOPHOTOS
PHOTOS
Cook Inlet Tribal Council’s (CITC) 2016 Native Youth Olympics (NYO)
was held in Anchorage, Alaska, on April 21-23 at the Alaska Airlines
Center. NANA was a proud sponsor of this event that features athletes
competing in traditional Alaska Native games. For thousands of years,
these traditional games helped develop skills critical to everyday life in
the challenging Alaska environment. Today, the games carry the same
spirit, skill set, and values by encouraging young people to strive for their
personal best while supporting their teammates and other competitors.
A team of 12 students, coached by NANA employee Lance Kramer of
Kotzebue, represented the Northwest Arctic Borough School District
(NWABSD). Team members included: Jacob Weber (Buckland), Derek
Brown (Kotzebue), Tommy Coffin (Noorvik), Erik Mills-Bain (Kotzebue),
Andrew Bergan (Kotzebue), Maayuk Adams (Kivalina), Miya Page (Noatak),
Homer Thomas (Buckland), Shelby Sampson (Selawik), Roquel Mills-Bain
(Kotzebue), Nyla Ivanhoff (Kotzebue), and Moira Sheldon (Kotzebue).
Congratulations to all the athletes who
participated in the 2016 NYO Games!
(top right) NANA is a proud sponsor
of NYO and the NWABSD team.
(back l to r) Lance Kramer, Jacob
Weber, Derek brown, Tommy Coffin,
Erik Mills-Bain, Andrew Bergan,
Maayuk Adams, and Miya Page.
(front l to r) Homer Thomas, Shelby
Sampson, Roquel Mills-Bain, Nyla
Ivanhoff, and Moira Sheldon.
(right) The 46th Annual NYO games
was held at the Alaska Airlines
center in Anchorage, Alaska, on
April 21-23. The games are open to
all Alaska students grades 7-12.
(left) NWABSD athlete Erik
Mills-Bain gets ready to hold on
tight in the Greased Stick Pull. This
event simulates grabbing a slippery
salmon and was used traditionally to
develop hand and arm strength.
(right) Miya Page gets ready to pull
in the Iñuit Stick Pull. The game
was created as practice for pulling
seals from the ice.
(left) Noorvik High School senior
Tommy Coffin competes in the
Scissor Broad Jump. This event
was traditionally used to practice
balance needed for jumping on ice
floes.
(right) Elia Gomez, NANA's natural
resource specialist and NYO alumni,
shared encouraging words with
the athletes during the opening
ceremony.
6
HUNTER 2016 MAY / JUNE