So What Makes A Person An Alaskan?

[Daveinthebush]

While it is raining cats and dogs over here in Valdez and I am working on the addition on the cabin.....So What Makes A Person An Alaskan?

I have make a few comments on this topic before but haven't heard comments from anyone else.  Is it the man/woman?  Number of years in Alaska? Attitude?  Hunting experiences?  Or what?

Just curious guys!  What is your impression of what makes a person a True Alaskan.  :grin:

[Dand]

Some brag about their time here or birth in Alaska, or their wilderness adventures.

But I like to think they're the folks like that lady who drove you around Anchorage just to help.  Or our friends who drove some hitchhikers from Palmer to the Canadian border just to show them the sights.  Or, like when I was a kid, the people who ALWAYS stopped to see if a car along the highway was in trouble and needed help. Or the folks who right after the earthquake who went around helping others when their own house had completely disintegrated.  Or our town folk in Dillingham  who grabbed every tool they had including a bull dozer when a wild fire threatened our neighborhood.  The late Tom Madsen who risked his life during a huge storm in the middle of the night fly a very sick little girl from Dutch Harbor to Anchorage.  Even though he had a wife and kids of his own.  The garage owner here who had his crew clean up some land belonging to an ailing old couple after some thoughtless slobs dumped a bunch of garbage all over the place.

But if we look closely, we find these folks all over American - we just don't hear enough about them.

[Winter Hawk]

I'll second what Dand said.  It is an attitude.  It's seeing something that needs doing and doing it.  It's stopping to help someone get out of the ditch.  It's throwing a couple of gallons of gas in someone's rig when they run out and not taking any reimbursement for it.

And as Dand said you will find it all over the world.  When we came to America when I was a wee lad, we arrived in the middle of the night after flying for 2 days in a Boeing Stratocruiser from Indonesia.   One of my Dad's colleagues was waiting at the airport to take us to our housing.  The apartment had some temporary furnishings, made up beds and dinner in the oven.  When my Mom found out the next day who had got it ready and thanked them, the lady said "don't thank us, just pass it on."

I've been trying to do that ever since, and I think that attitude is very prevalent up here.  That makes a person an Alaskan.  "Don't thank me, just pass it on."

-Kees-

[Matt in AK]

I'm not really qualified to say, but here's my two cents worth with change back to ya...

Self sufficiency and a willingness to help others.  Alaska really is America's last frontier and the folks I see as true Alaskans have a pioneering spirit.  They can handle themselves alone in the bush and though not all of them reach out to others, none would leave another stranded in the bush without help.  

In my short time I've seen several examples of true Alaskans and the man who started this topic is but one.  He took this Cheechako under his wing a time or two and showed off his Alaska and imparted some wisdom and tricks-of-the-trade as well.  Another fella further North just happened to have some steel valve stems to rescue a member of my moose hunting party who'd torn off his rubber valve stem.  Bearhuntr in Kenai took the time to share bear hunting hot-spots and techniques.  I've never met a man more than a mile off the road up here that I wouldn't share a campfire and my coffeepot with.  Afraid I can't say the same thing in some other states and countries I've called home.

[Daveinthebush]

You guys are comming up with some good answers.  Probably part of the reason people help so willingly up here is because there is a greater likelyhood that the person lives here or really wants to admire what is here.  You don't run into the ones that are forced to live here or don't want to be here much.

I remember about three years ago I was prospecting up a creek north of Paxson.  I was at least a mile off the road and here comes these two great looking Swedish girls just a walking a long.  :grin:  

They showed no fear as they approched me and the dog.  And if anyone has seen my picture, I, myself might be a little leary approching an old bearded guy packing a .44 with a big dog .  But no.  So I showed them how to pan and what I had in my poke and we went our way unfortunanetly. They were really cute too!  I am sure they took a story home ----- We met this old prospector in Alaksa.......and he....only showed us how to pan for gold. :roll:

[lilbiggun]

Its definitly the attitude. Theres some good people in anchorage but I try to get out as much as possible. People have a better attitude when you get out of town.

Went bear hunting in Tok one time. I've never met these folks before but they gave me a 4wheeler to use, a cabin to stay in and a hell of a good time. No bear (well 1 of us got one just not me). They could care less that I wasnt a local. I treated them with respect and got it back. Now its an annual thing. I spent 2 days in Nikoli and got the same results. Last month we helped out the MRC in sterling and was treated like kings. Good people in this state.

On the bear hunt it was kinda funny. We brought everything but the kitchen sink. (4 of us went 2 had ATV's) We planned on making multiple trips but we were gonna go in luxory for once. By the time it was done, I was riding a polaris 4X4 and my buddy was on a 6X6 (none were ours) and we had 11 people volunteer there day to bring our gear out and show us the area. I guess it was a slow day in Tok. Good people and I made alot of friends on that trip.

[Winter Hawk]

Tok IS a good area with great people.

-Kees-