Community gathers for celebration of Native culture

WASILLA — Thunderous music, rhythmic dancing and energetic games — sounds like one heck of a party.

“This is really what we need in the community is good, sober fun,” said Rodney Hebert, who attended Friday night’s Native Youth Festival wearing full Native American regalia as part of the Sleeping Lady Drummers and Dancers group.

Hebert helped get the annual event get off on the right foot by dancing into the school’s multi-purpose room to the sound of booming drums and singing. The music and dancing set the tone for an evening of nearly nonstop entertainment and community fellowship sponsored by the Mat-Su Borough School District.

And like any good potluck there was plenty of food. From traditional Native foods like whale meat and salmon to the always-popular fry bread, tables were covered in dishes supplied by many of the hundreds of participants who turned out for the festival.

According to Meghan McCarthy-Grant, the borough’s assistant federal programs director, the event is designed to honor and recognize Alaska Native and American Indian culture as well as create a space where people from diverse backgrounds can gather together in one place.

“Everyone’s coming from different tribes, so it’s a way for everyone to get together under one roof,” McCarthy-Grant said.

The event included arts and craft booths, informational kiosks from educational groups a demonstration of traditional Native games by local Native Youth Olympics teams and even an “Inupiaq selfie” booth where participants could take photos wearing a kuspuk, a traditional Alaska Native overshirt.

McCarthy-Grant credited the district’s Alaska Native and Indian Education Program’s Parent Advisory Committee for recognizing the need for such an event due to the district’s rising Native enrollment. The festival also doubled as a one-stop shop where parents and guardians could complete the paperwork needed to have their students certified for enrollment in the Alaska Native and Indian Education program.

“There’s a lot of networking that’s going on here,” she said.

Aside from the practical purpose of the festival, parent advisory committee member Hannah Howard said she enjoys the chance to meet new people the event provides.

“The first thing we do is ask, ‘Where are you from?’” said Howard, who teaches second grade at Tanaina Elementary but is originally from Shishmaref.

More often than not, after a few questions people start finding out they’re connected in some way through friends or relatives.

“It’s a very big state but it’s a small world,” Howard said.

Among the most popular events was the demonstration of traditional Native games, where middle and high-school athletes helped younger kids learn the basics of games like the wrist carry, seal hop, Eskimo stick pull, scissor broad jump, one-hand reach and the various high-kick events.

NYO athlete Kayla Olhausen, a senior at Colony High (and the defending state champion in the Indian stick pull), said introducing younger kids to the sport is one of her favorite parts of NYO.

“We love to do demonstrations,” Olhausen said. “It’s a lot of fun.”

The Mat-Su NYO teams worked together to sell fry bread at the festival as a way to raise money for upcoming trips to competitions. Unlike other sports, teams from various high schools work closely together on everything from planning trips to learning better techniques. That’s in keeping with the spirit of the competitions, which are as much a celebration of culture as they are sporting events.

“NYO is a communal event and every athlete helps each other,” she said. “Wasilla and Colony don’t hate each other like they do in basketball and football.”

The festival was also a way to bring young people and elders together in a fun environment, which Parent Advisory Committee member Kelly Engel said is one of the event’s key drawing points.

“I like the intergenerational aspect of it,” she said.

Eklutna traditional chief Lee Stephan agreed. But he also said the event is a great way to show young people that there’s other ways to have a good time that don’t involve going out and partying.

“This is a different kind of party,” he said.

Meghan McCarthy-Grant said that’s precisely why the district continues to sponsor the annual event.

“It’s great food and everyone is in a friendly, welcoming, get-to-know-you mood,” she said.

To learn more about the district’s Alaska Native and American Indian Education Program, visit matsuk12.org.

Contact Frontiersman editor Matt Tunseth at 352-2268 or email news@frontiersman.com