Arts & Culture

The climax of the Cama-i Dance Festival falls in the middle of the event. All the drummers from the dance groups come together, circle the audience, and bang their drums as one. The ritual is called the Heart of the Drums and is led by festival emcee Peter Atchak. Atchak calls this moment his "favorite part of Cama-i." Hear an audio postcard of this moment.

Yuraq dancers from the University of Alaska Fairbanks - Kuskokwim Campus honored their late director, Mary Ciuniq Pete, at the Cama-i Festival this year. 

At the last minute, Chefornak dancers canceled their appearance at last year’s Cama-i Dance Festival when Tribal Council President and drummer Walter Lewis died suddenly in a snowmachine accident. This year, Cama-i dedicated the gathering to Lewis’ memory. 

This year’s Cama-i theme was “Together We Dance As One.” The unifying message inspired artist Sivaluaq Jerry "Bucket" Lieb to design the festival’s spirit mask around the story of how people gave up fighting to dance and sing. Lieb told KYUK the story behind the image.

Chevak never stopped dancing. When the missionaries came, the villagers buried their drums, later unearthing them to continue their dance tradition. This year’s Cama-i’s Living Treasure, Cikiigaq Joe Ayagarak Jr. of Chevak, inherited that tradition. In the 1980s he brought it to Kwethluk, where it’s continued ever since. This year, Ayagarak Jr. met his legacy on the Cama-i stage.