Spirit of the Wind
Encyclopedia
Spirit of the Wind is a 1979 American film directed by Ralph Liddle.
The film is also known as Attla (American alternative title).
Hustler". Attla was a leading star at the time in the sport of sprint dog sled racing. He won the Fur Rendezvous World Championship race, held in Anchorage, Alaska
, 10 times between 1958 and 1982. He also won 8 championships in the Open North American race, held in Fairbanks, Alaska
. In addition, despite his mushing experience being geared more towards sprint than distance racing, Attla competed in the inaugural Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 1973, placing fifth.
The general theme of the story centered around Attla's rivalry with the other leading sprint competitors of the day. Dr. Roland Lombard and Gareth Wright (the latter the brother of political gadfly Don Wright
), and the preparation for an upcoming big race.
Most of the movie was set and filmed in Fairbanks. A number of local actors, including local Alaska Natives
, University of Alaska Fairbanks
professor Lee Salisbury, and KFAR
disc jockey/newscaster Bill Walley, appear in minor roles.
The film is also known as Attla (American alternative title).
Plot summary
The movie is a semi-autobiographical story based upon the life of George Attla (born 1933), known as "The HusliaHuslia, Alaska
Huslia is a village of Koyukuk-hotana Athabascans in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, United States. Rarely known as Hussliakatna...
Hustler". Attla was a leading star at the time in the sport of sprint dog sled racing. He won the Fur Rendezvous World Championship race, held in Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
, 10 times between 1958 and 1982. He also won 8 championships in the Open North American race, held in Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks is a home rule city in and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska.Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska, and second largest in the state behind Anchorage...
. In addition, despite his mushing experience being geared more towards sprint than distance racing, Attla competed in the inaugural Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 1973, placing fifth.
The general theme of the story centered around Attla's rivalry with the other leading sprint competitors of the day. Dr. Roland Lombard and Gareth Wright (the latter the brother of political gadfly Don Wright
Don Wright (politician)
Donald Rose "Don" Wright is an American politician and former president of the Alaska Federation of Natives, serving from 1970 to 1972 during the height of activity over passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Most of his notoriety in Alaskan politics has come as a perennial candidate...
), and the preparation for an upcoming big race.
Most of the movie was set and filmed in Fairbanks. A number of local actors, including local Alaska Natives
Alaska Natives
Alaska Natives are the indigenous peoples of Alaska. They include: Aleut, Inuit, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Eyak, and a number of Northern Athabaskan cultures.-History:In 1912 the Alaska Native Brotherhood was founded...
, University of Alaska Fairbanks
University of Alaska Fairbanks
The University of Alaska Fairbanks, located in Fairbanks, Alaska, USA, is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska System, and is abbreviated as Alaska or UAF....
professor Lee Salisbury, and KFAR
KFAR
KFAR is a commercial radio station programming news/talk in Fairbanks, Alaska, United States, broadcasting on 660 AM. It airs Fox News Radio and carries national radio programs thru Compass Media Networks, Premiere Radio Networks and Westwood One, amongst others. Of the two AM news/talk stations...
disc jockey/newscaster Bill Walley, appear in minor roles.
Cast
- Pius Savage as George Attla
- George ClutesiGeorge ClutesiGeorge Clutesi, CM , was a Tseshaht artist, actor and writer, as well as an expert on and spokesman for Native Canadian culture.-Biography:...
as George's Father - Slim PickensSlim PickensLouis Burton Lindley, Jr. , better known by the stage name Slim Pickens, was an American rodeo performer and film and television actor who epitomized the profane, tough, sardonic cowboy, but who is best remembered for his comic roles, notably in Dr...
as Obie - Chief Dan George as Moses
- Rose Attla Ambrose as Mother
- William Ambrose as Young George
- Rudy Wiehl as Young Steven
- Eileen Newman as Young Marie
- Louis Ambrose as Young Robert
- Phyllis Attla as Marie
- Curtis Erhart as Robert
- Ace Rollins as Man in truck
- Charlie Peters as Sammy Sam, the fiddler
- Lee Salisbury as Doctor
- Melinda Matsen as Nurse
- John Adams as Isaak Isugliak, the kid at the hospital
- Leonard Kriska as Wilson Paul
- Terry Edwin as Lambert
- John Allen as Job Interviewer
- Merv Hilpipre as Gareth Wright
- Madeline Solomon as Moses Paul's Wife
- Barbara Richards as Waitress
- Bill Walley as Sportscaster
- Dorothy Bainter as Janis
- Carol Yazzie as Sindi
- Jack Williams as Man in bar