Alaska's Indigenous teens emulate ancestors' Arctic survival skills at the Native Youth Olympics

The athletes filling a huge gym in Anchorage, Alaska were ready to compete, cheering and stomping and high-fiving each other as they lined up for the chance to claim the state's top prize in their events.

But these teenagers were at the Native Youth Olympics, a statewide competition that attracts hundreds of Alaska Native athletes each year and pays tribute to the skills and techniques used by their ancestors to survive in the harsh polar climate.

Events at