World Eskimo-Indian  Olympics

Summer visitors have a chance to see the four-day World Eskimo-Indian Olympics held in mid-July in Fairbanks. Natives from Alaska, the Pacific Northwest & Canada gather to compete in traditional athletic competitions (which include some unusual ones like ear-pulling, knuckle hop, high kick and the nalukatak [blanket toss], where age and wisdom often defeat youth and strength), games and dances.

The Olympics open on the first day at 6 p.m. with the Race of the Torch, a 5-kilometer road race. Male and female winners earn the honor of lighting the  WEIO torch for that year. Each year a Miss Weio is crowned. There are events scheduled all day Wednesday through Saturday, Free to the public. There is a charge for evening events (box  office opens at 6 p.m.) Traditional Native dancers perform throughout the games and each night.

The event usually includes a native "potlatch", sort of a pot luck supper with traditional native foods, perhaps including Eskimo Ice Cream.

Miss WEIO 2005, 
Gussie Ivanoff
(Miss Arctic Native Brotherhood,
from Unalakleet)

The W.E.I.O. will be at the Carlson Center this year. For dates and times, check our Calendar, July.  For more information, call (907) 452-6646. If you miss it in July, they have rented cabin #26 at Pioneer Park, where you can get some authentic native arts and crafts.

History

We discovered so much information on the history of the World Eskimo-Indian Olympics that we had to make a separate page on the history of the event.

WARNING: This is a major event in Fairbanks, occurring in the same time period as Golden Days, and rooms are at a premium, so early reservations are a must.

Cost (updated 2006)

Daily Admission:

Note: The charges are for evening sessions - there is no charge for  the daytime events. See more information at this site (see link in next paragraph).

Events

For more information on tickets and a download link for their schedule of events, go here.

To give you an idea of what happens at the Olympics, we have made a page describing them. Here is a list of the events, along with the record holders:

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