Welcome to The History of Mushing

At the website for the International Federation of Sleddog Sports (IFSS), Tim White's "A history of mushing before we knew it" outlines the long partnership between sled dogs and men:

Sled dogs have coexisted and cooperated in partnership with humans for many thousands of years in the northern regions of North America and Siberia. Archeological evidence puts the earliest date at over 4,000 years ago. Some anthropologists suggest that human habitation and survival in the Arctic would not have been possible without sled dogs. In the Southwest of what is now the United States the first Spanish explorers encountered Indians who used dogs as draft animals pulling travois. They remarked that these dogs were an integral part of the Indians' culture. In fact, in many North American Indian cultures the relationship with dogs was central to their style of life and the introduction of horses occurred in parallel without replacing or diminishing the cultural importance of dogs as respected associates and partners.

This site will attempt to gather and present websites, blogs, and other sources of information about the history of sled dogs and mankind down through the centuries. If you have or know of a good resource which should be included, please send it to my attention at helen@northernlightmedia.com - and thank you!