George Attla

George Attla
Attla in 1976
Born	(1933-08-08)August 8, 1933[1] Koyukuk, Alaska, United States[2]
Died	February 15, 2015(2015-02-15) (aged 81) Alaska Native Medical Center, Anchorage, Alaska, United States[3]
Other names	Huslia Hustler[3]
Known for	Sprint Dog Mushing
Website	http://attlamakingofachampion.com/

George Attla (August 8, 1933 – February 15, 2015) was a champion sprint dog musher.^[4] Attla won ten Anchorage Fur Rendezvous Championships and eight North American Open championships^[5] with a career that spanned from 1958 to 2011.^[6] Attla was the subject of a 1993 book titled George Attla: The Legend of the Sled-dog Trail, by Lewis "Lew" Freedman.^[7]

In 1974 Attla wrote a book titled Everything I Know About Training and Racing Sled Dogs.^[8] Attla died of B-cell lymphoma in February 2015.^[9]

Major mushing victories and finishes

• Anchorage Fur Rendezvous First place finishes: 1958, 1962, 1968, 1972, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1981, and 1982.^[10]
• Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race In 1973 Attla placed fourth in the inaugural Iditarod.^[11]

Legacy

• On April 25, 1998, the governor of Alaska, Steve Cowper, declared April 29 as George Attla Day.^[12]
• Attla was the focus of the movie Spirit of the Wind.^[13]
• He inspired the 2017 single "You Got to Run (Spirit of the Wind)", a collaboration between Buffy Sainte-Marie and Tanya Tagaq.^[14]

References

1. "Daily News-Miner Obituary". Legacy.com. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
2. Freedman, Lew (2000). Spirit of the Wind. Epicenter Press. p. 16. ISBN 9780945397939.
3. "Legendary sprint musher George Attla dies". 15 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
4. "Alaska Native mushing icon George Attla hopes to boost sport in villages". 22 October 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
5. "For bedridden mushing legend George Attla, 81, the journey continues". Retrieved 16 February 2015.
6. "No stopping George Attla: Setbacks don't keep legendary musher off the runners". Newsminer. 13 November 2011. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
7. Freedman, Lew (1993). George Attla: The Legend of the Sled-dog Trail. Stackpole Books. pp. 204.
8. Levorsen, as told by George Attla to Bella (1974). The Iditarod: the most demanding race of all (2nd ed.). Rome, N.Y.: Arner. ISBN 0914124021.
9. "Legendary Alaska scurry musher George Attla dies". Fairbanks Daily News. 16 February 2015. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
10. "Who are the winners of the Anchorage Fur Rendezvous dog races?". Retrieved 16 February 2015.
11. "Musher Career Summary". 13 January 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
12. "George Attla – Making of a Champion Role Model". 6 February 2012.
13. Dunham, Mike (27 February 2014). "Film about legendary musher George Attla returns to the screen". Alaska Dispatch News. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
14. Queens of Indigenous Music Buffy Ste-Marie and Tanya Tagaq Unite for “You Got To Run (Spirit Of The Wind)” Archived 2019-12-23 at the Wayback Machine. RPM.fm, February 22, 2017.