Bethel Council on the Arts

Kuskokwim Campus Dancers

The Kuskokwim Campus Dancers are comprised of students from the Bethel campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks who live in the dorms and practice traditional dance together. Some of the members have, been with the group for several years.

Theresa John, originally from Toksook Bay, is the coach and mentor of the team. She is also one of the founders of the Cama-i Dance Festival. This is her first year with the group, but she remembers it from the 1980s, when she first worked on the campus. John said that the group uses old and new material in their performances.

"The students compose new songs, and we bring in songs with the permission of the villages they are from," John said. "We include both traditional and contemporary content, and the oldest song is a Bladder Festival song from my relatives on Nelson Island."
In most of the dances the women stand and the men kneel, but John said that there are also songs where everyone stands. "There are many styles, and songs are slow, medium and fast," John said. "The rhythms and content vary based on style."

Ishmael Andrew from Kwigillingok has been with the group since 1999. He said the songs have changed as different leaders have come through the group. Andrew also said that he is glad to be able to participate in the group, because traditional dance is still uncommon in his village.

"It's a lot of fun and I wish that I could have done it more in the past," Andrew said. "My grandfather tried to start a group, but the village wouldn't let him have a place for the group to practice."

Because the tradition of dancing has been interrupted in his home village, Andrew fears that some of his village's cultural knowledge might disappear. "My grandfather knows so many songs, but he hasn't taught them to anyone," Andrew said. "I'm afraid we're going to lose them:"

Andrew said that his wife, Michelle Andrew from Chefornak, has also been in the group for several years. "They dance in Chefornak, and Michelle has been dancing since grade school," Andrew said, adding that he would like to learn the songs of that village.

Freshman Nicholai Joekaoi from Napaskiak has been dancing since he was 1 year old, and he emphasized the mental-health benefits that dancing gives him. "It lets me forget about school, or any other stress," he said. "There is a lot of humor, and when we dance we just laugh for two hours."

Group leader John also enjoys the playfulness in the group. "There's a lot of laughing and teasing and joking. Trying to make each other laugh, it's a good feeling," she said. "I'm very happy that this group is so enthusiastic."

John sees traditional dance as a vital part of the culture that must be maintained. She noted that the dances were an important function that took place between villages and between male and female groups within villages.

"It is an intricate process with depth and value," she said. "It kept people strong and maintained the welfare of the village. These were ritual ceremonies and also festivals."

Dance leaders were often also community leaders. "These were spiritual people who were closely connected to annual activities. Dancing is a very healing thing for people to do, which is especially important when you live in a small community," John said. "The dances strengthen unity and encourage the people to respect the creator, the land and the community. And the leaders speak at the festivals and reiterate those values."

Also important was the inherent enjoyable quality of the dances, John said. "The ceremonies create a high level of positive energy that causes problems to be forgotten."

Dances went beyond mere entertainment, however, and included elements of prayer. "These are ancient indigenous ways, given by the creator and meant to be maintained," John said. "But the dances were stopped by missionaries who misunderstood the purpose of our sacred festivities. We regarded our festivals with reverence. They did not understand that it was an ancient prayer and that we had to ask animal spirits to return."

The Yup'ik believed that there are spirits in all living things. "Bushes, clouds, caribou, mountains, fish; everything was regarded with respect," she said. "And shamans are the designated messengers to the spirit world."

Shamans are empowered by dancing and drumming, John said, and were integral to the mask dances that were part of the ceremony.

"A shaman would travel to the spirit world and bring back mask ideas. They would have a conference and request the presence of animals for the next hunt," she said. "When they came back from the spirit world they consigned artists to make very specific images."
John described one type of mask as the "sticking mask," which would fly from the ground to the wearers face. Masked dancing has not enjoyed the revival of the last 30 years that other forms of Yup'ik dancing has, though.

"We don't perform songs where the dancers wear masks. We don't have the resources available and I don't have the personal experience, but I hope that in the future we will be able to bring in local experts," she said, adding that masks had been banned by missionaries in the past. "Michael Angiak witnessed the last mask ceremony in Tununuk."
Many of those ceremonies have been kept alive by elders who practiced them at home, John said. "Still," she added, "some elders don't practice out of fear of being put down for doing something not understood by outsiders."

John said she feels lucky to have been born in an era when dancing is being revived. "It's good to see the younger generation interested in our culture. They are literally calling ancestor's spirits to join them," she said. "The spirits are in the drums, they say, and they join us when the drums are beaten."

The songs have been part of John's life since she was an infant. "Mom said that my grandmother would sing the songs to me when I went to sleep, but Mom didn't know at that time that they were performance songs."

John said that her grandmother helped to revive the traditions in her village. "Grandma got permission from the priest in Nightmute to perform. People were becoming weak and sad without the dances," John said. "The ancestors really knew what it takes to have a healthy community That's why they put all their energy into community activities."

As one of the founders of the festival, John has seen it go through many changes over the years. "I started Cama-i in the `80s with help from the community. I approached the local elders to see if it was OK. Once I had the OK, I approached local organizations like ONC and the Ladies Auxiliary for money to bring in other groups. The airlines were also very generous, as were the people who hosted villagers," she said. "Now the Bethel Council on the Arts is the main sponsor. They have been working so hard to make it happen every year."

John has seen Cama-i grow to an event that includes groups from many parts of the globe and she sees that as a benefit.

"The expansion of the festival brings in many cultures to celebrate as one," she said. "To me that makes a healthy community that is humble and happy"

Kuskokwim Campus Dancers will perform Saturday at 5:20 p.m. and Sunday at 3:15 p.m.