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Canku Ota

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(Many Paths)

An Online Newsletter Celebrating Native America

 

January 24, 2004 - Issue 105

 
 

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Alaska Native Heritage Center Celebrates Youth Day

 
   

(Anchorage, AK) - Anchorage youth and youth groups will have the opportunity to learn about Alaska Native cultures in a fun environment. The Alaska Native Heritage Center (ANHC) is celebrating Youth Day on January 31, 2004 from 10am to 5PM. Throughout the day, activities will be provided for entertainment, fun and education. Also available will be programs to allow scouts to pass requirements for certain badges for their advancement. Youth Day is one of the continuing series of Celebrating Culture Saturdays sponsored by BP.

"Families and youth are a large part of our mission to share, perpetuate and preserve the unique Alaska Native cultures, languages, traditions and values through celebration and education", stated Jon Ross, President and CEO. "Through Youth Day we are creating fun and educational programs for the youth of our community to learn about Native cultures."

There will be performances by the Fireweed Dancers and the Alaska Native Heritage Center's Dance Group. The Fireweed Dancers were formed in May 2003 when a student shared a song with others and inspired others to join in. Currently 10 to 15 dancers are learning and performing songs from all over Alaska. As part of their growth, they create their own songs as well as making their own regalia, drums and dance fans. Fireweed Dancers range in age from 14 to 17 years and represent all regions of Alaska. The Alaska Native Heritage Center Dance Group was created in the fall of 2001 as part of the ANHC's After-School Program for Alaska Native high school students. The initial vision was to offer a performance component to the students, teaching them traditional Native dance (Yup'ik Eskimo dancing). The group has studied with master dance instructors from throughout the state, expanding its performance repertoire to include Tsimshian, Inupiaq and Aleut singing and dancing.

There will be Native storytelling with Edward Tiulana. Tiulana was born and raised in Anchorage and keeps his Inupiaq culture alive as a member of the King Island Dancers. King Island is located 40 miles west of Cape Douglas in the Bering Sea, south of Wales. Tiulana started dancing with the group at the age of 12 and has kept the beat strong since then. The King Island dancers have traveled all over the world including Seoul, South Korea, Paraguay, England and throughout the United States.

There will be hands on classes in Alaska Native dance, language and art as part of an ongoing ANHC Cultural Education Program sponsored by the CIRI Foundation. Art and language classes will be held each Saturday and will run for 4 to 6 weeks. Language classes will be Tlingit with Paul Marks from 10am to 12pm and Dena'ina Athabascan with Jim Wilson from 2pm to 4:30. Art classes will be making small Alutiiq headdresses with Viola Inga from 10am to 12pm and Tlingit beading with Mabel Pike from 2pm to 4pm. Dance classes will be held each Saturday and will represent different cultures each week. The dance classes will be Inupiaq with Edward Tiulana at 12pm and 4pm. Each dance class will last a half an hour. To register for art and language classes, call 330-8002, Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm. There is no registration necessary for the dance classes.

In addition to the art classes, there will be arts and crafts sessions available throughout the day for all ages. Instructions include how to make: Athabascan Necklaces, Yup'ik/Cup'ik Medicine Pouches and Inupiaq/St. Lawrence Island Yupik Yoyos. Several videos will be shown such as Stories Given, Stories Shared, Mama, Do You Love Me and Alaska's Three Bears.

The Bird Treatment and Learning Center (Bird TLC) will be giving special presentations with a Golden Eagle, Bald Eagle and a Great Gray Owl. The Bird Treatment and Learning Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to rehabilitating sick, injured or orphaned wild birds and avian education programs. Dr. James R. Scott, an Anchorage veterinarian, founded Bird TLC in 1988. Dr. Scott, along with other Alaskan veterinarians, donate their time to treat the birds in need. In addition to medical care, Bird TLC provides a variety of educational programs to increase people's awareness of the wild birds around them and to encourage preservation of their habitat.

There will be outdoor activities for all. Lap game, a Native game that's a bit like baseball and dodge ball and is often played at fish camps in the summer. Winter basketball, a very important contemporary Native cultural value, will be played with ANHC's new outdoor hoops. Weather permitting there will be snowshoeing and a traditional blanket toss.

Visitors can experience the five recreated village sites that illustrate the traditional structures in a typical village before or shortly after contact with other cultures. Knowledgeable tour guides will share history, culture and traditions of each Native culture.

The Alaska Native Heritage Center is an independent, nonprofit that is committed to sharing, perpetuating and preserving the unique Alaska Native cultures, languages, traditions and values through celebration and education. It is located at 8800 Heritage Center Drive in northeast Anchorage, just off Muldoon Road North near Bartlett High School. For more information about other events and programs, visit www.alaskanative.net

Anchorage, AK Map

Maps by Expedia.com Travel
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  Canku Ota is a free Newsletter celebrating Native America, its traditions and accomplishments . We do not provide subscriber or visitor names to anyone. Some articles presented in Canku Ota may contain copyright material. We have received appropriate permissions for republishing any articles. Material appearing here is distributed without profit or monetary gain to those who have expressed an interest. This is in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107.  
 

Canku Ota is a copyright © 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 of Vicki Lockard and Paul Barry.

 
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