Canku Ota

(Many Paths)

An Online Newsletter Celebrating Native America

November 29, 2003 - Issue 101

Native Youngsters Not Fiddling Around

Williams played at the festival for the fourth time Friday, joining 28 other local Alaska Native students who are learning the ropes of playing the violin as members of Fairbanks Junior Fiddlers.

The group's performance was the first of two by a youth group during a day when aspiring fiddlers stole the show.

Friday also featured a performance by children of adult performers at the festival.

Barnette Elementary reading program director Maryanne Allan formed the Fairbanks Junior Fiddlers five years ago. She said she was looking for a way to provide students with a source of pride in their school to keep them from dropping out.

Twenty-nine students, mostly elementary school students, participate in the program, receiving lessons from an instructor during the school day, practicing as a group once a week and performing at various events around town.

The group has performed at the Athabascan Fiddle Festival every year since the program started.

"We came to the fiddle festival about five years ago and we had five students," Allan said, addressing the crowd gathered at the David Salmon Tribal Hall for the second day of the festival Thursday.

Each of the students dressed in traditional Native clothing for the occasion and assembled in the middle of the dance floor for their performance.

With students ranging from third-graders to seventh-graders, the group was a mixed lot in terms of both height and skills.

The group opened with all the students playing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," then the older, more experienced students took up some more complicated numbers.

Allan said that by the time students leave the program, she hopes they learn at least the basic skills of playing the violin so they can have a starting point should they decide to later take up the Native fiddling tradition.

"It's our hope that at some point, they'll be up on the stage performing as Athabascan fiddlers," she said to the crowd during the students' performance.

Williams said he remembers being nervous the first time he performed at the fiddle festival as a third-grader.

"Then I got used to it," he said.

Williams said he has plenty more goals when it comes to playing the violin.

"I hope I'll still be playing in the future and learn how to read music and do all the slurs," he said.

Barnette third-grader Kelly May said he's enjoying his time as a junior fiddler.

"It's just fun," he said.

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