Christina Gibson of Whiteout Racing Kennel and lead dogs Windshear and Sike welcomed three new future athletes to the dog sled team last week.
Christina Gibson of Whiteout Racing Kennel welcomed three new additions to the sled dog team last week. Lead dogs Windshear and Sike are the proud parents of new puppies. The pups hail from a distinguished lineage of champion racers. Christina described the parents as phenomenal athletes with friendly personalities and solid temperaments.
Training has already begun for the little ones, a female and two males. Their first few weeks will be spent bonding with their trainer, Christina. They will be seen around town in a few months, learning their manners and how to socialize appropriately. The new pups first run with the big dogs will happen when they are six months old with a short run to introduce them to the team and the routine. The pups will be ready to run as adult race dogs when they are 2 years old.
Names are forthcoming, Christina is waiting for the little athletes to reveal their characters.
In other Carlton canine news, Eddie and Murphy are now famous, as they were featured on the UPS Dogs Facebook page, along with driver Jeremy. If there are any talent scouts sniffing around for good doggies, proud owner Melissa Kendrick will be managing their celebrity bookings.
Nez Perce descendant and Colville tribal member Dan Nanamkin was the featured Last Sunday speaker at the Methow Valley Interpretive Center this month. Earlier in the day, Dan held a fundraiser event for Young Warriors at Homestream Park in Winthrop.
The Young Warrior Society is an educational program to “cultivate deeper connections with our reservation and practices,” according to the website, www.nanamkin.com/young-warrior-society-land-camp.The group offers seasonal camps and events. Dan has the goal to establish The Young Warrior Society as a nonprofit organization and to build a permanent educational center. To learn more about the project and how to help, visit www.nanamkin.com.
Few people know of the flight of the Nez Perce. In 1877, hundreds of Nez Perce people fled the U.S. military to avoid relocation to a reservation. Under the guidance of Chief Joseph, they escaped from Oregon across Idaho, Wyoming and into Montana on their way to Canada where they hoped to find sanctuary. Forty miles away from freedom, the U.S. military captured the group, taking the starving and exhausted Nez Perce as prisoners of war.
They were held in Oklahoma for eight years before Chief Joseph negotiated a return to the Pacific Northwest. Survivors relocated to the Colville Reservation and joined the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. Arnie Marchand shared details from first-hand accounts of Nez Perce warriors in his book, “Stim An S Kw Ist, What’s Your Name?” His book can be purchased on the TwispWorks campus at the Methow Valley Interpretive Center and the Valley Goods Store. The Nez Perce National Historic Trail follows the route of their epic escape, details of the trail can be found here: www.fs.usda.gov/npnht.
In other news of note, the Supreme Court of Canada recognized the existence of the Sinixt in a landmark decision last week. The Sinixt, also known as the “Arrow Lakes Band,” or “The Lakes,” form part of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. They have continuously lived in British Columbia and eastern Washington for over 10,000 years. The Canadian government declared the Sinixt extinct in 1956 to gain access to valuable tribal lands. Local author and historian Richard Hart has worked on the case over the last decade, serving as an expert witness.
