The dance is part of the Reindeer Messenger Festival, which was first held in 2002 and is held every other year. The three-day event that begins Thursday includes elements of a traditional festival banned in 1936 because it was considered heathen, according to a news report from THV-Channel 2 in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Nathan Hannah is the Covenant church’s new pastor and a teacher at the village school. “It’s an extraordinary activity for the kids,” he told the TV station. “It’s learning about the culture. It’s a positive expression, a creative expression about the good things of the Cup’ig culture. There’s just a lot of positives that comes out of it.”
Hannah, who refers to himself as a “plain old white guy,” is married to a Cup’ig woman from Mekoryuk. He returned to pastor the village’s only church in June after having lived in the village until several years ago.
Hannah noted he did not speak for the church in the Cup’ig Eskimo village. According to the report, some older members of the congregation and community had opposed bringing back the festival and dance.
The young people had wanted to bring back the festival as part of their desire to connect more with their culture. According to the broadcast, “The village school now offers Cup’ig immersion classes to its youngest students. It holds regular school-wide culture weeks where students learn about dancing, mask-making, ivory carving and drum-making. Older students get outdoor survival training, learning how to shoot and butcher reindeer and musk oxen during winter camping trips.
Visit FESTIVAL to read more about the event.
