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{{short description|American dog musher, pilot, and motivational speaker}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
[[File:John Baker in 2010 Iditarod (crop).jpg|thumb|John Baker during the ceremonial start of the 2010 Iditarod]]▼
|name = John Baker
|native_name = Quniaq
|image = John Baker in 2010 Iditarod (crop).jpg
▲
|nationality = [[Americans|American]]
|spouse = Katherine Keith
|sport = [[Sled dog racing]]
|event = [[Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race]]
'''John Quniaq Baker''' (born 1962 or 1963 in [[Kotzebue, Alaska]]) is a self-employed [[Americans|American]] [[mushing|dog musher]], [[Aviator|pilot]] and [[motivational speaker]] of [[Inupiat people|Inupiat]] descent who
once consistently placed in the top 10 during the long distance [[Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race]]. Baker won the 2011 Iditarod with a finish time of 8 Days 19 Hours 46 Minutes 39 Seconds.
==Mushing career==
Baker started mushing at age 14. He raced in his first Iditarod in 1996, placing 22nd. By his third race he placed in the top 10, and he sustained that position for six of the next seven years (from the 1998 to the [[2005 Iditarod]]s), only dropping to 22nd once again in 2000 due to dog trouble.<ref name="Potempa">Potempa.</ref> His second best finish was in 2002, when he crossed the finish line in 3rd place in 9 days, 5 hours, 46 minutes, and 30 seconds. In 1998, he won both the [[Dorothy G. Page]] Halfway Award and the Regal Alaskan's First Musher to the [[Yukon]] Award. He
Like [[Ramy Brooks]], Baker is one of the few [[Alaska Native]] dog sled racers who compete in the modern Iditarod.
===Animal abuse allegations===
In 2018, a former employee accused Baker of abusing dogs. Baker denied the allegations, which were promoted by [[PETA]], a longtime critic of dog mushing.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Hanlon |first=Tegan |date=February 19, 2018 |title=Former Iditarod champion John Baker has pulled out of this year’s race |url=https://www.adn.com/outdoors-adventure/iditarod/2018/02/19/former-iditarod-champion-john-baker-has-pulled-out-of-this-years-race/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020075209/https://www.adn.com/outdoors-adventure/iditarod/2018/02/19/former-iditarod-champion-john-baker-has-pulled-out-of-this-years-race/ |archive-date=October 20, 2021 |access-date=June 18, 2024 |work=[[Anchorage Daily News]]}}</ref>
Baker withdrew from the 2018 Iditarod following the accusations against him, saying that he had never planned to compete and had only registered to support the race.<ref name=":0" />
In 2019, further abuse allegations emerged from another former dog handler. The story was once again spread by PETA and was denied by Baker's spouse Katherine Keith, a fellow musher.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Medred |first=Craig |date=April 5, 2019 |title=PETA’s assault |url=https://craigmedred.news/2019/04/05/petas-assault/?fbclid=IwAR3RFuoBC73OB9vKpiyqBdFa6tlXpQ1vmBK1klCPnSKpFPSxXHFCiwAqbv8 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925232500/https://craigmedred.news/2019/04/05/petas-assault/ |archive-date=September 25, 2023 |access-date=June 18, 2024 |website=Craig Medred}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Medred |first=Craig |date=April 6, 2019 |title=Fake News? |url=https://craigmedred.news/2019/04/06/fake-news/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240311021252/https://craigmedred.news/2019/04/06/fake-news/ |archive-date=March 11, 2024 |access-date=June 18, 2024 |website=Craig Medred}}</ref>
Other former handlers either denied or would not confirm the allegations, and images used to support the 2018 accusation later proved to be from internet postings not related to Baker.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
{| align="right" class="toccolours" style="margin: 0 .4em; font-size: 100%"
|+ style="text-align:right" align=bottom | <ref name="Cabela's">Cabela's Iditarod 2006 Race Coverage.</ref> <ref>{{cite web |title=Musher Career Summary |url=https://iditarod.com/race/mushers/86-John-Baker/ |website=[[Iditarod]] |access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref>
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==Personal life==▼
▲Baker started mushing at age 14. He raced in his first Iditarod in 1996, placing 22nd. By his third race he placed in the top 10, and he sustained that position for six of the next seven years (from the 1998 to the [[2005 Iditarod]]s), only dropping to 22nd once again in 2000 due to dog trouble.<ref name="Potempa">Potempa.</ref> His second best finish was in 2002, when he crossed the finish line in 3rd place in 9 days, 5 hours, 46 minutes, and 30 seconds. In 1998, he won both the [[Dorothy G. Page]] Halfway Award and the Regal Alaskan's First Musher to the [[Yukon]] Award. He has competed in every race from the 1996 to the [[2013 Iditarod]]. In the 2009 Iditarod, he finished in 3rd place. He has 24 dogs.
Baker worked as a pilot and manager of his family's [[air taxi]] business. He also visits local schools as a motivational lecturer
Baker lives near his extended family on the coast of the [[Chukchi Sea]] in Kotzebue, Alaska, and has a fish camp/winter cabin 30 mi (50 km) away, across [[Kobuk Lake]]. His son Alex has competed in the [[Junior Iditarod]]. He also has a daughter, Tahayla. As of March 2017, Baker is
▲|}
▲==Personal life==
Baker is of [[Inupiat]] and [[American Jews|Jewish]] heritage. His grandmother, Clara Rotman (née Levy), was born in [[Kiana, Alaska]] in 1914. She was born to a Native Alaskan mother and a Jewish father and was raised Jewish and cherished her Jewish heritage.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://reformjudaism.org/alaska-ice-rabbe-cometh |title=Alaska: The Ice Rabbe Cometh |publisher=[[ReformJudaism.org]] |accessdate=2019-10-13}}</ref> In 2011, Baker became the first Jew and the first Inuit to win the Iditarod.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jta.org/2019/03/18/sports/blair-braverman-becomes-first-jewish-woman-to-finish-the-iditarod |title=Blair Braverman becomes first Jewish woman to finish the Iditarod sled dog race |date=18 March 2019 |publisher=[[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]] |accessdate=2019-10-13}}</ref>
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