BB and I spent the day at the Alaska Native Heritage Center.
We arrived just as a demonstration of Alaska Native Games was beginning. We watched four young men demonstrate three games requiring power, balance and focus. I don't think I can do justice describing them so I have attached links to YouTube videos for two of them:
Alaskan High Kick
One Foot High Kick
The third was called Athabascan Hopscotch. The first player starts with a stick in his hand. Then the player jumps forward on both feet, then immediately jumps again landing on one foot. While balancing on one foot the player places the stick on the ground to mark his spot. The next player takes his turn. Second player jumps, hopefully farther, picks up the stick and moves it forward. The object of the game is to jump the farthest as noted by the placeholder stick. A player looses a turn if he looses his balance or allows any part of his body besides his two feet on the first jump or one foot on the second jump to touch the ground.
The young men really seemed to be enjoying themselves. We could hear them encouraging each other and offering each other advice. BB spoke to two of them after the demonstration and found out they had competed in the World Eskimo Indian Olympics (WEIO). BB and I hope to attend the WEIO next summer.
After the games demo we listed to a talk on the different Native tribes in Alaska. There are 231 federally recognized tribes in Alaska grouped into eleven major cultural groups. For each cultural group we learned the location of its native lands, which native language is spoken and the basic cultural differences between the groups.
And of course we couldn't miss a dance demonstration! The dancers performed several dances from two different tribes. In-between dances the dancers told us about their native dress and the musicians told us about the instruments they were playing.
The Center is in a beautiful location beside a small lake. Along the lake are six traditional Native dwellings representing the eleven cultural groups. A tour of the dwellings and a walk around the lake wound up our visit.
It is on our list to visit the Heritage Center again!
Sal
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