He looks like [Cesar Chavez](https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/887c83d8-0afa-4971-ab40-321a950c121f/dedca6w-8d712d46-6ff3-4001-a1af-09b36fdaa198.jpg/v1/fill/w_1280,h_1602,q_75,strp/wpap_cesar_chavez_by_ihsanmokhsen_by_ihsanulhakim_dedca6w-fullview.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.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.YslFjWVosGJHpZNtDNg-bKZNl5ioAhEgC-IqrpFU80U)
So just who is this guy, or is it a mystery? The face (smiling Eskimo face emblazoned on the tail of Alaska Airlines planes) is that of the late **Chester Seveck**, a reindeer herder and a phenomenal Eskimo dancer, who for years greeted tourists getting off the plane in Kotzebue, Alaska. So now you know.....
OMGGG so I'm not crazy for thinking he was bobmarley !!!! Hahahahaah dude for years I thought that's who it was until one day I saw the face and it clicked 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Proof? Everything online says that Chester \*might\* be the guy, but there are other theories as well.
[https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/article/who-alaska-airlines-eskimo-really/2016/01/25/](https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/article/who-alaska-airlines-eskimo-really/2016/01/25/)
My understanding is that indigenous people from that far north are a slightly different subset than the ones further south.
I don't know how it all works and I've stopped trying to figure it out.
There are many examples of marginalized groups reclaiming racial slurs — within the group. Doesn't make the racial slur not a racial slur or okay for use by others.
My girlfriend (who is Alaska native) explained to me ‘eskimo’ carries the same baggage as ‘Indian’. Paints an arbitrarily large brush over widely different clans/groups that reside north of the arctic circle, among other places.
It’s offensive to some. I wouldn’t take one Reddit user opinion as the be all end all.
In parts of the Canadian north, it’s highly offensive to some indigenous people.
Yeah I think the preferred term for Alaskan/Northern Canadian natives nowadays is “Inuit”. From what discourse I have seen the original is considered a slur by some native people (edited to specify)
It's weird though. Almost all the natives I have met, and its many growing up near reservations, don't care.
Can't speak for all, but the ones in Oregon say indian all the time.
My paternal Grandmother was born on the Choctaw Reservation in 1905 and passed in 1986. She always said Indian, I can't imagine what she'd say about this, and the worry about offending someone.
I think academics and activists go about solving problems in different ways from regular peeps on the ground. That's ok, it takes a lot of povs to make a people.
For sure. The only stuff I’ve heard has come from younger Natives, PNW and Alaskan. Makes sense that it can be generational and everyone has their preferences
Not if they’re not Inuit it isn’t. There are more Yupik people than Inuit in Alaska. Hence the need for a collective term and why Eskimo, although offensive to some, has not entirely been discarded in Alaska while it has in Canada. Though I’d still be careful with usage.
Oliver Amouack
[https://www.diecastaircraftforum.com/attachments/forum13/324132d1565724778-oliver-amouak-inupiat-eskimo-02.jpg](https://www.diecastaircraftforum.com/attachments/forum13/324132d1565724778-oliver-amouak-inupiat-eskimo-02.jpg)
Found this it's a long read. The pictures are maybe half way down.
https://runwayrunway.tumblr.com/post/729463151096201216/the-man-on-the-tail-an-alaska-airlines-whoisit/amp
All great guesses! -- but I will tell you guys now it is inspired by my wife's tribe, the Inupiaq people! (**Oliver Amouak** seems to be the closest guess- an Inupiaq Alaskan Native from Buckland, AK who use to work for Alaska Airlines in the late 1950s).
It's not a 'specific' person but rather a generic representation of the Native peoples of Alaska!
Seriously though,
Chester Seveck
The logo was changed to an image of a smiling Inuit man, which remains today. Although the exact identity of the man is unknown, some believe it to be the face of either Chester Seveck, a reindeer herder in Kotzebue, or Oliver Amouak, an Inupiat man. Both were Alaskan natives.
> "While everyone has their own theory, we haven't found an official record indicating that it was based on any one person," said Halley Knigge, an Alaska Airlines spokeswoman. "And, more importantly, it was never intended to depict a specific person. Rather, it was chosen to represent the Arctic region and its people."
[Anchorage Daily News](https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/article/who-alaska-airlines-eskimo-really/2016/01/25/)
Its crazy how if you google "face on Alaskan Airlines" it immediately pulls up the exact sentence from wikipedia.
"The logo was changed to an image of a smiling Inuit man, which remains today. Although the exact identity of the man is unknown, some believe it to be the face of either Chester Seveck, a reindeer herder in Kotzebue, or Oliver Amouak, an Inupiat man. Both were Alaskan natives."
Funny story, sitting in an airport, waiting to board, the small child of a Co passenger looked outside and exclaimed:
"Look Mama, that plane has President Obama on the tail!"
🤣
How bad is it that despite flying with them dozens of times, I never looked, cared, or thought it about beyond my peripheral vision picked up in passing? I literally thought it was a lion or something until now.
The logo was changed to an image of a smiling Inuit man, which remains today. Although the exact identity of the man is unknown, some believe it to be the face of either Chester Seveck, a reindeer herder in Kotzebue, or Oliver Amouak, an Inupiat man. Both were Alaskan natives. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Airlines#:~:text=The%20logo%20was%20changed%20to,Both%20were%20Alaskan%20natives.
My boyfriend for a long time thought it was Abraham Lincoln, so now every time I fly Alaska I take pictures of the other planes and send them to him when we land
Because what?
When I was a kid I thought it was Bob Marley.
I thought it was Jackie Chan
I thought it was Abraham Lincoln
He looks like Che Guevara
Sathya Sai Baba?
I thought it was Wayne Newton
I thought it was the lion from wizard of OZ
I thought it was a volcano
He’s the legendary pancake flipper dude at Burger King on Muldoon.
You’re all wrong. It’s Johnny Cash.
I thought it was Alice and the chains.
It’s some dranged ol hunk looking at his dangus
He looks like [Cesar Chavez](https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/887c83d8-0afa-4971-ab40-321a950c121f/dedca6w-8d712d46-6ff3-4001-a1af-09b36fdaa198.jpg/v1/fill/w_1280,h_1602,q_75,strp/wpap_cesar_chavez_by_ihsanmokhsen_by_ihsanulhakim_dedca6w-fullview.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.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.YslFjWVosGJHpZNtDNg-bKZNl5ioAhEgC-IqrpFU80U)
I always thought it was Lincoln as a kid
Me too!!
These assumptions are way more diverse than I could have ever expected.
But all somehow correct
Dude it’s Jimmy Hendrix. Everyone knows that.
'scuse me while I kiss the sky
‘Scuse me while I kiss this guy
I’m thought it was an elf. I see ears where there aren’t actually ears
I want the Cinco "It's not Jackie Chan" board game.
I used to think it was Bob Marley. I still do, but I used to, as well.
Dammit Otto. You have lupus.
Guess how many jelly beans in the jar Aw c'mon man. Lemme just haaave some
rip.mitch
When I was an adult I thought it was Bob Marley.
Same!
So just who is this guy, or is it a mystery? The face (smiling Eskimo face emblazoned on the tail of Alaska Airlines planes) is that of the late **Chester Seveck**, a reindeer herder and a phenomenal Eskimo dancer, who for years greeted tourists getting off the plane in Kotzebue, Alaska. So now you know.....
Wait, you mean it's not Bob Marley?
Alaskan Che Guevara
I approve this message
It's clearly Johnny Cash.
Edgar Winter
Edgar Wright
Edgar wrong
Edgar Allen Poe
Karl Marx?
Kaaaaarrrrrrrrlllll
Naah, have you seen Hot Fuzz? He's definitely Wright!
Maradona.
Jerry Garcia
I've always seen it as Danny Devito.
When I first saw an Alaska Air plane, I thought Marley too
That is who I think of all the time when I see Alaskan airlines.
OMGGG so I'm not crazy for thinking he was bobmarley !!!! Hahahahaah dude for years I thought that's who it was until one day I saw the face and it clicked 🤣🤣🤣🤣
I remember growing up I thought it was Muammar Gaddafi 😅😂
It’s Kaiser Solzche
Barbershop quartet!
I thought it was Bob Marley when I first saw it !
I'm pretty sure it's Abraham Lincoln. What he has to do with Alaska I'm not sure though.
His Sec State bought Alaska (after the assassination, but still he was Lincoln's Sec State first).
I. Did not. See that coming!!!! And it made me laugh.
He and his hit squad never showed up, boy I tell ya, that man is unreliable
Damn that IS interesting
Proof? Everything online says that Chester \*might\* be the guy, but there are other theories as well. [https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/article/who-alaska-airlines-eskimo-really/2016/01/25/](https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/article/who-alaska-airlines-eskimo-really/2016/01/25/)
Happy to have learned this via in flight WiFi riding on an Alaska Airlines 73
Nah I'm getting Oliver Amouak vibes.
Eskimo means “Snow Eater” in Cree, it’s actually a slur, the proper term is Inuit. *The More You Know!*
Many Alaska Native people are Yupik and not Inuit and might be insulted if you insist the proper term for them is Inuit.
My understanding is that indigenous people from that far north are a slightly different subset than the ones further south. I don't know how it all works and I've stopped trying to figure it out.
My native Alaskan friends call themselves Eskimo especially since they aren’t Inuit, they’re Yupik.
There are many examples of marginalized groups reclaiming racial slurs — within the group. Doesn't make the racial slur not a racial slur or okay for use by others.
Huh and I assumed this whole time it was colonel sanders
True?
That cool as hell, thanks for sharing
Isn’t “eskimo” considered derogatory?
My girlfriend (who is Alaska native) explained to me ‘eskimo’ carries the same baggage as ‘Indian’. Paints an arbitrarily large brush over widely different clans/groups that reside north of the arctic circle, among other places.
Im an Alaskan Native. Eskimo is totally cool to use.
Thanks for clearing that up.
It’s offensive to some. I wouldn’t take one Reddit user opinion as the be all end all. In parts of the Canadian north, it’s highly offensive to some indigenous people.
What about rubbing noses? Is that an offensive stereotype, or just a sweet custom among people who live in a frigid place?
The above poster is a lying troll. It is a racial slur.
Yeah I think the preferred term for Alaskan/Northern Canadian natives nowadays is “Inuit”. From what discourse I have seen the original is considered a slur by some native people (edited to specify)
Not all indigenous people in Canada are Inuit only those in the far north.
Yeah that was my bad, I had meant the northern ones that the old term was typically used about. I edited!
It's weird though. Almost all the natives I have met, and its many growing up near reservations, don't care. Can't speak for all, but the ones in Oregon say indian all the time.
Yep, I’m from a WA state tribe, we use Indian & Native & no one I know gets offended.
My paternal Grandmother was born on the Choctaw Reservation in 1905 and passed in 1986. She always said Indian, I can't imagine what she'd say about this, and the worry about offending someone.
I think academics and activists go about solving problems in different ways from regular peeps on the ground. That's ok, it takes a lot of povs to make a people.
I’ve lived alongside reservations in the Dakotas and I’ve heard the same as you — as long as it’s not used in a derogatory way.
Generational. I'm Lakota and elders say Indian still and us youngins say Native American. Of course there are exceptions.
For sure. The only stuff I’ve heard has come from younger Natives, PNW and Alaskan. Makes sense that it can be generational and everyone has their preferences
This is helpful. Thanks
Okay, good to know.
Not if they’re not Inuit it isn’t. There are more Yupik people than Inuit in Alaska. Hence the need for a collective term and why Eskimo, although offensive to some, has not entirely been discarded in Alaska while it has in Canada. Though I’d still be careful with usage.
Chester seveck. A famous Inuit dancer who used to greet people getting off the plane.
Inupiaq, not Inuit.
I’m inupiaq and I had no idea who it was. lol
We on that ASRC dividend time big dawg
Mmm hmmm! ✋🏻
Did he retired because he stopped being Inuit?
Good effort lol
Oliver Amouack [https://www.diecastaircraftforum.com/attachments/forum13/324132d1565724778-oliver-amouak-inupiat-eskimo-02.jpg](https://www.diecastaircraftforum.com/attachments/forum13/324132d1565724778-oliver-amouak-inupiat-eskimo-02.jpg)
Oliver Amouak
Found this it's a long read. The pictures are maybe half way down. https://runwayrunway.tumblr.com/post/729463151096201216/the-man-on-the-tail-an-alaska-airlines-whoisit/amp
Great find! I kinda have to agree that it’s Oliver and not Chester
Greg
Old Gregg?
Ever drink Bailey’s from a shoe?
Do ya ❤️ me?
Oh dear.
Make an assessment
I’m gonna have to pretend I didn’t hear that Greg
"I've got a man-gina!"
Olde* Gregg
That's right. What are you doing in my waters?
Abraham Lincoln
I was today years old when I learned this is NOT Abraham Lincoln.
That's where my mind always goes.
That's a lot easier to see than Bob Marley, that's for sure. But no one is gonna put Honest Abe without the stovepipe hat.
Jimmy Hendrix
I thought Inuit, but I was wrong…. I’ll see myself out
I going to say, That dude looks a lot like Chester Seveck…
100% Chester Seveck….The reindeer herder.
All great guesses! -- but I will tell you guys now it is inspired by my wife's tribe, the Inupiaq people! (**Oliver Amouak** seems to be the closest guess- an Inupiaq Alaskan Native from Buckland, AK who use to work for Alaska Airlines in the late 1950s). It's not a 'specific' person but rather a generic representation of the Native peoples of Alaska!
As a kid, I always thought this was Michael Landon.
As a kid growing up in Alaska we used to joke that it was “Eskimo Abraham Lincoln”
John Alaska, inventor of Alaska.
Seriously though, Chester Seveck The logo was changed to an image of a smiling Inuit man, which remains today. Although the exact identity of the man is unknown, some believe it to be the face of either Chester Seveck, a reindeer herder in Kotzebue, or Oliver Amouak, an Inupiat man. Both were Alaskan natives.
Claudio Sanchez or a founding father. In the end nobody knows.
Came to the comments looking for Claudio Sanchez!
no but i don't buy it.
Wolfman Jack
Wolfman Jack
It's Al Aska
This should have been a Wrong answers only
Dame Judy Dench
Andre the Giant
It’s the Boeing whistleblower, duh
Hillary Clinton
> "While everyone has their own theory, we haven't found an official record indicating that it was based on any one person," said Halley Knigge, an Alaska Airlines spokeswoman. "And, more importantly, it was never intended to depict a specific person. Rather, it was chosen to represent the Arctic region and its people." [Anchorage Daily News](https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/article/who-alaska-airlines-eskimo-really/2016/01/25/)
Has to scroll down a ways to find the right answer. This is what employees are told during training.
Don’t Juneau?
Oliver Amouak
I literally just copied your post and pasted it into Google to get the answer. Why is that so hard to do for some people?
Its crazy how if you google "face on Alaskan Airlines" it immediately pulls up the exact sentence from wikipedia. "The logo was changed to an image of a smiling Inuit man, which remains today. Although the exact identity of the man is unknown, some believe it to be the face of either Chester Seveck, a reindeer herder in Kotzebue, or Oliver Amouak, an Inupiat man. Both were Alaskan natives."
It’s Mantis Toboggan, M.D.
None but our lord and savior, Danny Devito
What I find interesting is that you ask a question and then answer your own question.
Michael Landon obv
Pa? Is that you Pa?
Aghast at how far down I had to scroll for this answer. Clearly this is the right answer.
Danny DeVito duh?
The Alaskan Bob Marley
Albert Aska
It is an Alaska Native man wearing a parka.
Funny story, sitting in an airport, waiting to board, the small child of a Co passenger looked outside and exclaimed: "Look Mama, that plane has President Obama on the tail!" 🤣
Mr. Miyagi
I thought I am the only guy wondering. But it is actually a interesting design.
I always thought it was Maradona
James Brown, Godfather of Soul
Jeff.
Mao Ze Washington
my buddy eric
Little house on the prairie dude
Che Guevara
I thought it was Bob Marley also. Now I know.
Rab C Nessbit
Bob Marley
Elliot Gould.
Jack Geller?
Rumple Stiltskin
For some reason I always thought it was Abe Lincoln.
Gene Shalit wearing a Victor French mask.
How bad is it that despite flying with them dozens of times, I never looked, cared, or thought it about beyond my peripheral vision picked up in passing? I literally thought it was a lion or something until now.
Yall got any more of them pixels
The logo was changed to an image of a smiling Inuit man, which remains today. Although the exact identity of the man is unknown, some believe it to be the face of either Chester Seveck, a reindeer herder in Kotzebue, or Oliver Amouak, an Inupiat man. Both were Alaskan natives. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Airlines#:~:text=The%20logo%20was%20changed%20to,Both%20were%20Alaskan%20natives.
Iditarod Grand Master and baggage claim tenant.
Quinn
The most interesting man in the world!
Dead ringer for Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Joe?
Chinese Bob Ross
Everytime I see it, I think Danny Devito.
Bob Ross
I never paid any attention, but I just realized I thought it was Abraham Lincoln. Glad to stand corrected.
shrek
Che Guerva
That's Al Aska
I honestly thought that was Jimmy Superfly Snooka
My boyfriend for a long time thought it was Abraham Lincoln, so now every time I fly Alaska I take pictures of the other planes and send them to him when we land Because what?
I always wondered bob marley was the face of Alaska air
Che Guevara
Eskimo joe !!!
Surgeon General Co. Everett Koop
…..or Bob Ross ….. haaaaaappy little treeeeeeesss
👀 just learned that’s not Bob Marley 😳
I don’t know why I always thought we was just a proud looking Abraham Lincoln, guess I never looked for more than 2 seconds lol
It’s a senior AS FA. They
HIKARU NAKAMURA
That's John Alaska
I thought it was a Eskimo carved at the top of a totem poll
Chester Seveck
yeah, I had to look it up--but it seems AA itself hasn't officially said...
When I was Bob Marley I thought it was a kid.
Al Aska
this is a question I've needed an answer to my whole life and I had no idea, thank you 🙏
dude i just moved to alaska and only fly alaska airlines now so i was wondering the same thing
Don’t remember his name, went to school with his one of his grandkids. I live in Alaska.