[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 155 (Tuesday, September 18, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6211-S6212]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO STANLEY RILEY

  Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, it is Tuesday, and normally I come to 
the Senate floor on Thursdays, and I do what is the favorite part of 
the week for me. I do our series called the ``Alaskan of the Week.'' So 
we are going to talk about the Alaskan of the week, which is a great 
opportunity for me to talk about somebody in the great State of Alaska 
who has done something good for their community, their town, their 
State, or maybe their country, and I get to brag a little bit about 
what I think makes my State the best State in the country. It is the 
people. It is the community. It is people who are doing wonderful 
things and are an inspiration.
  Today I want to transport you to a village called Anaktuvuk Pass in 
Alaska's North Slope Borough. It is about 500 miles north of Anchorage, 
way up north, beyond the Arctic Circle. It is smack-dab in the Brooks 
Range, surrounded by beautiful, rugged, majestic mountains. It is 
Alaska's real-life version of the mythical Shangri-La. Anaktuvuk Pass 
is the place that Stanley Riley, an amazing young Alaskan, calls home.
  Stanley made his village proud recently by bringing home a gold and 
two second place finishes from his first World Eskimo-Indian Olympics. 
Let me spend a minute or two talking about the World Eskimo-Indian 
Olympics, another Alaskan institution. The games began in 1961. They 
test the skills, strength, ability, agility, and endurance of Alaskan 
Natives, who for millennia have needed to be able to survive in some of 
the harshest conditions in the world.
  The games leave no part of the body untested. There is the seal hop, 
the four-man carry, the ear pull--that one is really popular--the high 
kicks, and the muktuk eating contest, which is whale blubber. They also 
reflect what is very unique about the great State of Alaska. Stanley 
won a gold for the head pull. It is another competition at these 
incredible World Eskimo-Indian Olympics.
  Let me describe the head pull. You lie down on the ground, facing 
your competitor. Both of you are up on your hands, and you share a 
strap looped around each other's necks. Whoever is able to use enough 
neck and shoulder strength to pull the other over wins. That is the 
head pull.
  He almost won the four-man carry, where you walk for as long as you 
can with four people clinging to all sides of you. That is the four-man 
carry. He spent all summer training for it, climbing up the mountains 
that surround his

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village and hauling game back down the mountains that he had shot. It 
is a good way to train in Alaska. That honor went to Sido Evans from 
Fairbanks, Riley's best friend. He called him a ``mountain of a Koyukon 
man.''
  Riley has his sights on gold for next year's World Eskimo-Indian 
Olympics. It seems like when he wants something badly enough, he gets 
it, particularly now, since he has found his calling.
  What is his calling, you ask? His calling is to be a role model for 
his people, especially the young people.
  Stanley has overcome incredible odds to get to where he is now. That 
is the inspiration part I was talking about. He had some rough times as 
a youngster, and he has overcome them and is now an example for so many 
Alaskans in his community and beyond.
  As is the case for too many children across my State and across the 
country, Stanley grew up in a single-parent household without a father 
around. That took its toll. When he was 12, he left Anaktuvuk Pass and 
got bounced around in the foster care system. He had almost 20 foster 
care parents, he said, until he emancipated at 16 years old.
  Then, he started to succeed. He was able to get his GED, and he had 
enough internal drive that along the way he had some good-paying jobs, 
but then again he had setbacks, as happens in the life of our young 
people, whether in Alaska or across the country, when drugs and alcohol 
get in the way.
  Finally, about 4 years ago, he looked in the mirror and didn't like 
the person staring back at him. He was unhealthy, unfit, and had gained 
all kinds of weight--over 400 pounds. He lacked a purpose. He packed up 
and moved back to Anaktuvuk Pass, intent, he said, on changing his life 
for the better and on becoming a positive role model for his community, 
especially the youth in his community. He started to do this. Slowly 
his mind cleared, his soul brightened, and he began to get in shape.
  Now he spends his summers climbing the mountains around his village 
and hunting. He guesses he has climbed up about 1,000 miles this 
summer. The man is in shape. He has lost all kinds of weight, and he 
works as a tour guide and is an inspiration to so many members of his 
community, including his nephew Jacob, who is a talented basketball 
player and the light of Stanley's life. He said:

       When you're with your community, it's easier to keep 
     yourself together. You don't want to let those people [who 
     you live with and are part of your community] down.

  That is a great sentiment. Stanley is now a full-time student, and he 
is studying to be an Inupiak language and culture teacher. He wants the 
next generation to know where they came from and how strong they are 
and have pride in their culture and their heritage. He said:

       I want them to know that even though you have had a hard 
     upbringing, you can do anything [you set your mind to].

  He is also an amazing chef, mixing the old and new in Alaska. For 
instance, one of his signature dishes is fettuccini Alfredo with 
muktuk--whale blubber. People should try that. I am sure it is really 
good. I look forward to it.
  His next goal is to compete in the Arctic Winter Games, something he 
has been training for every day. In Alaska, we certainly are rooting 
for him.
  Stanley, thank you for being an inspiration, especially among the 
young people, showing them that when you have hard times, you can get 
up, brush yourself off, set high goals and standards, and then achieve 
them. Thank you for being our Alaskan of the week.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Young). The Senator from Wyoming.

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