Uksuum Cauyai: The Drums of Winter (1989)

Dance was at the heart of Yup'ik Eskimo spiritual and social life. It was the bridge between a person's own power and the greater powers of the unseen world. At the heart of dance was the drum in which could be heard the cadence of the universe.

Emmonak, Alaska is a Yup'ik Eskimo community of 500 on the Bering Sea coast at the mouth of the Yukon River. Despite decades of Western pressure, dance in Emmonak has survived. In many Alaska villages it has been lost.

Here in the village dance house people are gathering as they have on winter nights for centuries to practice dances for the coming potlatch ceremonies.

A rare, intimate look at the spiritual and social life of the Yup&apos;ik Eskimo people of Emmonak, Alaska - a culture centered around traditional gift-giving ceremonies featuring dances and drum music.

Sarah Elder

Leonard Kamerling

Uksuum Cauyai: The Drums of Winter

A rare, intimate look at the spiritual and social life of the Yup'ik Eskimo people of Emmonak, Alaska - a culture centered around traditional gift-giving ceremonies featuring dances and drum music.

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Uksuum Cauyai: The Drums of Winter

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