Wild & crazy Alaskans.

• Author: Ajango, Deb
• Position: Entrepreneur Chris Kiana Sr.

Northern entrepreneurs with the grit to hit gold.

The frontier attitude of "never say die" spun Chris Kiana Sr. to the brink of success.

Determined to sell the Eskimo Yo-Yo to the world, Kiana faced frustrating barriers in his effort to find a marketer who believed in the Eskimo Yo-Yo idea as much as he did. In 1992, after a 12-year struggle and thousands of dollars of personal investment, he succeeded -- and got a heady push down the road to fulfill his dream.

Kiana's story begins in rural Alaska. An Inupiaq Eskimo born in Selawik, he was introduced to the Eskimo Yo-Yo at age three, when his grandmother sewed sealskin scraps to make the toy, and his grandfather taught him how to use it. After a college career in business administration, Kiana began to research the yo yo in more depth. According to tradition, the Eskimo Yo-Yo, similar to a hunter's bolo weapon, was used to develop children's dexterity and coordination for hunting skills.

Armed with the tradition, Kiana decided to promote the yo yo to a wider market. That effort demanded creative marketing ideas. Where to go?

Starting in 1980, Kiana began to develop a real knack for inventing and mastering unique yo yo tricks. In 1985, with little financial help, he wrote a beginner's instructional booklet, "50 Alaska Eskimo Yo-Yo Tricks." The booklet offered directions and illustrations of yo-yo use, as well as a brief history of the toy. A few years later, Kiana added a video to his repertoire, which featured him performing 100 yo-yo tricks.

The greatest hurdle still lay ahead: Financial backing to take the yo yo to national and international markets.

To accomplish this task, Kiana contacted Alaska's 13 regional Native corporations and Alaska Gov. Walter Hickel, hoping someone would be interested in financing the idea. Proud of his heritage and state, Kiana hoped that by finding Alaska backers, he could leave marketing of the Yo-Yo in the hands of local residents. All the Native corporations and Gov. Hickel turned him down.

Over the next three years, Kiana wrote and faxed letters about his idea to business experts across the United States, Korea, Japan, China and South America. Several people expressed interest in the concept, but no one was willing to take on the idea.

Kiana kept at it. In...