Quyana Alaska

Atautchimukta - To be United

This dance group is formed with members of the community who include Anchorage, Nome, Teller, Pt Hope, Noorvik, Selawik, Savoonga, and Wainwright. We have come together to unite as one sharing songs and dances which have been passed down from our ancestors of the Seward Peninsula and the Arctic Slope and also new songs that have been composed by the next generation of tradition bearers. By combining our communities to form this group we demonstrate the friendships and bonds we have created to ensure the passing on of our culture to our younger generations for many years to come.

Aangun Yatx’i

We are an Angoon based dance group formed in February of 2014 by Senator Albert M. Kookesh and his wife, Sally. The name: Aangun Yatx'i translates into the Children of Angoon. The group consists of Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Athabaskan, Yupik, and Caucasian children. The purpose of the formation of the group is to give our children the opportunity to represent their grandfather’s people by dancing and singing the songs of our traditional clans. It is important to the group that the children learn all aspects of their traditional ways of life as well as their Native culture. No one is discouraged from joining the dance group as we are accepting to all who want to learn the ways of our ancestors.

Barrow Dancers

The Barrow Dancers are from Barrow, Alaska. They will be performing motion dances that have been handed down from generation to generation, bartered, traded or created.

Minto Dancers

We are the Minto Dance Group. Minto is a Lower-Tanana Athabascan village located northwest of Fairbanks. For countless centuries, the people of Minto have lived and subsisted on the Minto Flats in the Interior of Alaska. Minto was originally located on the banks of the Tanana River but moved to its current location in the 1970s due to flooding. Minto is accessible by road, boat or air. Although Minto people currently live in various locations throughout Alaska and the Lower 48, our traditions are still strong and keep us connected. We all grew up learning our songs and dances, including the old memorial songs called Dra’ta’chalee’. Our group of dancers is composed of the people who live in and outside of Minto. We all worked together to practice our songs and dances, learning and teaching each other so that we can share with all of you. Ana Basee.’

Anchorage Unangax Dancers

The Anchorage Unangax Dancers were formed several years ago, so that our children living far from Unangam Tanaa, the Unangax homeland, could participate in their culture. The group has grown over the years, and we are proud to represent every Unangax tribe and village. Our dancers descend from villages throughout the Aleutian Islands, Pribilof Islands, Shumagin Islands and the western Alaska Peninsula, as well as the Commander Islands in Russia. The songs we performed tonight, excluding the Koryak trade song, were composed in Atka by Anakuchax, Kdam Idigaa, Qanglaagix, Qagnax, Aanakliitax, Tang^aagim Ayagaa, and Tugidam Ayagaa, amongst others.

Qikiqtagruk Northern Lights Dancers of Kotzebue

The Qikiktagruk Northern Lights Dancers are from Kotzebue. Their dance group is embraced by many descendants from the original Northern Lights Dancers who originated from Kotzebue, Kivalina, Point Hope, Point Lay, Wainwright and Barrow. Carrying on their traditions, they continue to teach the original dances throughout the NANA Region with strong success in villages of Noatak and Kivalina. They also have continuous international ties with the Russian villages of Chukotka, Uelen, Lavrentiya and Provideniya where they have exchanged dances and worked together to bridge the gap between Alaska and Far East Russia. Qikiktagruk’s motto is: “Dancing in the shadows of our elders.”

Kluti-Kaah Dancers (Copper Center)

Kluti-Kaah is located in the heart of the Ahtna Region where the general population resides along the Old Richardson Highway. The exterior boundaries of the Native Village of Kluti-Kaah extend to and include all lands customarily and traditionally used or owned by the Kluti-Kaah Native people along the Copper River since time immemorial. The dancers are made up of Neltsiine, Taltsiine, Tsisyu, and Udzisyu of all age groups.

Nelson Island Dancers (Toksook Bay)

The Nelson Island Dancers were created back in the fall of 2004 for the students of Nelson Island School. The Nelson Island Dancers performed at Cam’ai in Bethel for the first time in 2005. They later performed at the State NYO Championship in Anchorage from 2005-2009. In 2010, they performed for the Alaska Association of School Boards for the annual meeting in Anchorage. The dance team has performed for the local community and the LKSD Dance Festival held each year. The Spring of 2015, the team was given the chance to perform once again in Bethel for Cam’ai. That same year, they performed in Anchorage for the AFN Convention. In 2016 we were privileged to perform in Fairbanks for the AFN Convention again. The dance team is fortunate to be able to keep the culture going and thrilled to perform for you once again.

Tanana Traditional Dancers

The Tanana Traditional Dancers from the Bid'zy'tahot'na' Clan, the Caribou Clan People. They live on the Yukon River, by Nuchalawoyya, where the Tanana River meets the Yukon River. The group is honored to perform on behalf of singers and dancers from way-way back. They taught our parents who taught us, we teach our children now. They express their gratitude and thanks to the City of Tanana, Tanana Tribal Council, Tozitna Limited and the community for their support.

King Island Singers and Dancers of Anchorage

The King Island Singers and Dancers of Anchorage dance group was formed by the late Paul Tiulana.  He, his wife Clara and their children moved from Nome to Anchorage in the 1960s.  Paul missed dancing so much, he formed this group in the 1970s; and although he passed away in 1994, his children, grandchildren, and relatives have been performing ever since.  These songs and dances were passed down from generation to generation for as long as King Island people have existed.  The group has travelled to places such as Paraguay, South Korea, New York City, Los Angeles, Cincinnati, Sante Fe, Seattle and numerous places throughout Alaska.  Many of the songs and dances were composed by or for King Islanders.

Mount St. Elias Dancers

The Mt. St. Elias Dancers are a Tlingit group from Yakutat, Alaska which is located on the Northern end of the Southeast Alaskan panhandle, just north of Juneau. In the early 1950’s, the elders of Yakutat decided to preserve the collective history and songs by joining the local clans together and starting a dance group. They took the name of the Mt. St. Elias Dancers after the 18,008 foot mountain that stands straight out of the icy waves of Yakutat. Today the group can be as large as 90 dancers of all ages. They strive to continually mentor young Tlingit leaders. This has allowed the group to thrive for over 60 years. Their regalia are a distinctive Tlingit style, and show the influence of their ancient trading partners and neighbors, the Athabaskan. Some of the regalia you see dancing today has been dancing for more than 6 generations. Several of the songs that the group sings are ancient trade songs or have been won by the Yakutat Tlingit from the Athabaskan, Tsimshian, and Aleut. Many of the songs and movements are more than 1,000 years old. The group is young and strong. They love to sing and dance what their grandparents have protected for them.

Wainwright Kuugmiut Dancers

We perform traditional songs passed down through generations. The drumming, singing and dancing keeps their rich culture alive and brings the community together for events such as: Nalukataq, Kivgiq, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's and other special events across Alaska and the World. The community loves coming together as one group, as it brings their community closer together and makes them stronger.

Acilquq Dance Group

Acilquq Dance Group is a Yup’ik dance group meaning Plant Root or Foundation, created in 2008 by P. “Aassanaaaq” Ossie Kairaiuak from Chefornak after singing and dancing under Ben Snowball and David Chanar. Its members have Village Roots from various villages in the Yup’ik Region of Southwestern Alaska, hence Acilquq honors that diverse roots. They hold evening practices every Wednesday, with a few exceptions, of the entire year at the Alaska Native Medical Center Lobby for only one reason: it’s patients are from rural villages to receive specialized care or treatment only available in Anchorage. Many in the community, who are also from villages, come just to enjoy the dancing and each others’ company and always an added bonus when they participate in the practice itself to give an uplifting entertainment to our most important audience: its patients. They have performed at the Camai Festival, Festival of Native Arts, AFN Quyana Night, and various venues held in the Anchorage Area.

Kodiak Alutiiq Dancers

The Alutiiq people traditionally danced as a community, telling stories of hunting, parents teaching children, or courting a partner, as well as for prayer and ceremony. Today, they present songs that were taught by Elders who remember singing and dancing these songs when they were young, as well as songs made in the 80’s and 90’s by Alutiiq Dancers of the time. They have a few songs that are more contemporary and cover recent topics like the 1964 earthquake and commercial fishing. The Kodiak Alutiiq Dancers have been performing since 1987. Our current dance group, who range from toddlers to adults, are excited to share the songs and dances of the Alutiiq People of Kodiak Island!

Qalgimiut Dance Group of Tikigaq (Pt. Hope)

The Qalgimiut Dance Group of Tikigaq was established in 2014. The Inupiaq term 'Qalgi' is a gathering place, in Tikigaq (Point Hope) this is more specifically considered a certain whaling clan that the tribe distinguishes between one and the other- the Unasiksikaaq clan, and the Qagmaqtuuq clan. In recorded oral and recent historical content- it is known that the Tikigaq people comprised of more than seven Qalgi clans-- since the 1700's there have been two remaining clans and these dancers are a part of those. Point Hope is known as the oldest continually inhabited community and settlement, and fittingly, the stories shared through Eskimo song and dance are from time immemorial--along with newly composed song and dances. The versions being presented today are but a small fraction of what constitutes the whole realm of Eskimo dancing--and because of time constraints and number of dances limited--what is shared tonight will be somewhat of a replica of the actual, in that the drumming and singing and dancing is much faster.