Kusko
Male
Pronounced "kuh-sko." The youngest students in the Top of the Kuskokwim School helped brainstorm names for our pups. Nikolai is located at the northern-most part of the Kuskokwim River. Residents have been using their traditional lands and resources in what is now Denali National Park and Preserve since long before Congress established the park.
Gladys
Female
The students of Gladys Dart School in Manley Hot Springs interviewed several community elders and muhers and brainstormed puppy names that represent their community. One of the names suggested was Gladys. Gladys was the first teacher in the reorganized Manley Hot Springs School in 1958.
Elsie
Female
Students from the Nenana School wrote us many beautiful letters with a variety of name ideas. The name Elsie comes from the name of their student living center. The Nenana students have a strong connection to Denali and have participated in various events in the park over the years. In addition, we have taken our dog teams to Nenana several times to start and end mushing trips on the Old Mail Trail.
Behnti
Female
Pronounced "ben-tee." This pup was named by the Minto School students. Behnti means "People Among the Lakes" in the local language. We have run our dog teams to Minto on a few occasions when we have travelled on the Old Mail Trail, a historic trail from Nenana to Tanana.
Nucha
Male
Pronounced "new-cha" in the D'Nahka'n language. The students in Tanana told us their town has a festival every two years called Nuch'A'Lawoya which means "the place where two rivers meet." Tanana sits on the banks of the river just past the confluence of the Yukon and Tanana Rivers. We were excited to finally run our dog teams all the way to Tanana in the spring of 2018 in time for their Spring Carnival which is known for its world-class sprint dog races!
Tsaani
Male
Pronounced "chaw-nee." This pup was named by the students of Cantwell. Tsaani means black bear in the Ahtna language. The students interviewed local elders and asked them to share stories of favorite local dogs and suggest good dog names that would celebrate the land and people of the Cantwell area.
Daagoo
Male
Pronounced dah-goo. This pup was named by the students at the Effie Kokrine School in Fairbanks. Dagoo means ptarmigan in Gwich'in. The students have camped overnight with the sled dogs and kennels staff in the park in spring at the Savage River Campground. Since ptarmigan also frequent this area, we thought it was fitting to choose the name Dagoo from their list.
