Missionaries to the Yup’ik suppressed these dances as counter to the teachings of the Catholic church, despite the spiritual importance they held for the communities. When dance was finally allowed back into people’s lives, the Church recognized its importance. Today, many members of both the church and the community have decided to bring the two together, linking the spiritual nature of the pre-Christian dance to the modern church. As Fienup-Riordan notes though, this mixing is a complicated one. One elder chose not to participate in a dance at churc “because of its association with the pre-Christian ceremonial cycle” (131).

Comment on this page