For the sake of the children
Published June 7, 1998
By MIKE ROGOWAY
THE JUNEAU EMPIRE
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Youth dancers: Ocean Isturis, 6, drums on stage during the Youth Celebration Dance on Saturday morning at Centennial Hall.MICHAEL PENN / THE JUNEAU EMPIRE
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Unlike many of his peers, 14-year-old Kyle Barril doesn't go in for body piercing. He says it's not his style.
On Saturday, though, he had no compunctions about donning a nose ring, a full loop that hung down from his nose to just above his mouth.
"It shows manhood," Kyle said."It's just a part of the regalia that we use."
At Celebration '98, Saturday's focus was on youth and their role in carrying on Native Alaskan traditions. Kyle and dozens of his contemporaries were decked out in straw hats, colorful robes and festive jewelry for the biennial cultural festival. Dancing and beating on drums, they sounded out cultural expression many of their parents missed.
Liz Jerue watched as her eight-year-old daughter Cassandra joined a youth dance troupe at Centennial Hall on Saturday.
"They're learning something that I never got the chance to," Jerue said. Jerue grew up in Washington state, and she said the focus on her Native Alaskan heritage was absent from her childhood. She wants to make sure it's different for Cassandra.
"She's learning her culture, and it's helped out a lot with her," Jerue said."She's learned how to respect her elders, respect where she comes from, and respect herself. It's something she takes great pride in growing up."
Youths participating in Celebration on Saturday said they got little exposure to Native culture in school, but quite a bit at home. Many are members of regularly-performing dance groups.
Celebration was an eye-opener for 14-year-old Misty Cook, who came up from Bellingham, Wash. for the event with her family and her dance troupe.
"I've never seen this many Tlingits and Haidas, this many Alaskans in my life," Misty said.
"It's amazing. This is my first Celebration. Everyone I meet I found out I'm related to."
Though the Native Alaskan community in the Puget Sound area is smaller than in Southeast, Misty said they're devoted to their traditions. She travels around the country with a dance group that encourages people to remember their heritage and religion.
"I don't want our culture to fade away," Misty said.
Celebration coordinator Andy Ebona said the event's organizers set aside a day for young people to recognize their place in the Native community.
"It's a a way to showcase the young kids that are part of Celebration," he said."They're just as excited about being a part of Celebration as the older people are, and the elders."
Families pass on traditions by starting their kids off with it at a young age, Ebona said. Often times, he said, teen-agers grow distant from their Native customs during the high school years. If it was a solid part of their upbringing, though, Ebona said cultural values will return when they're adults.
"They inevitably come back and help teach the younger people the songs and dances that they learned as youngsters."
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