Festival of Native Arts begins March 1

February 19, 2018

The 45th annual Festival of Native Arts is slated for March 1-3 at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Davis Concert Hall. Doors open to the public at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 1, 4:30 p.m. Friday, March 2, and 4 p.m. Saturday, March 3. This year’s theme is “45 years of the Festival of Native Arts.”

“UAF students plan and prepare for this event,” said Caitlin Tozier, student co-coordinator. “As we all gather to plan this event, we get excited because we get to invite people from across the state to come and sing, dance and share.”

UAF photo by JR Ancheta. UAF student Roberta Walker, from Unalakleet, dances with other members the Iñu-Yupiaq Dance Group during the 2017 Festival of Native Arts at the Davis Concert Hall.

The Festival of Native Arts was established in 1973 as a way for Alaska Native students to share their lives and culture with each other, the campus and the Fairbanks community. Evening performances feature Alaska Native dance groups from across the state. Jewelry, kuspuks, traditional carvings, beaded slippers and other forms of traditional art will be featured on 30 artisan craft tables in the foyer of the Davis Concert Hall and available for purchase.

In addition to the evening performances, the public is invited to attend free workshops from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 1-2, at the Wood Center. Workshop topics include Athabascan songs, Yup’ik song and dance, Alaska Native languages, cedar weaving, Yup’ik chant and making akutaq (traditional ice cream). Maya Salganek, assistant professor of film and video arts, will teach acting and voice-over workshops from 10 a.m. to noon and 1-3 p.m. Saturday, March 3, in the Theatre Green Room located in Fine Arts Complex Theatre 101. Additionally, Midnight Sun Intertribal Powwow will host a powwow from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 3, in the Wood Center Ballroom.

This year’s event is dedicated to the late James Nageak and Kris Ann Mountain. As a UAF student in the early 1970s, Nageak taught one of the first Iñupiaq language classes at the Alaska Native Language Center. He also served as a faculty adviser for the Festival of Native Arts and as the narrator for the adventure video game, “Never Alone.” Mountain worked as an administration assistant for Rural Student Services. A former UAF colleague described her as the glue that helped hold Rural Student Services and those they served together.

Karl W. Kassel, mayor of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Jim Matherly, mayor of Fairbanks, and Bryce Ward, mayor of North Pole, have declared March 1 as Festival of Native Arts Day. The executive proclamation recognizes the Festival of Native Arts for its 45 years of sharing the rich cultural heritages of Alaska’s first peoples in one place.

For more information, and a complete schedule of events, visit facebook.com/festivalofnativearts and fna.community.uaf.edu, or call (907) 474-6528. The Festival will also be live-streamed at fna.community.uaf.edu during the evening performances.