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Dance on a Sealskin

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Publisher: Alaska Northwest Books, 1995
ISBN # 0-88240-443-1

Author and Illustrator

Written by Barbara Winslow who lived and taught in Yup'ik villages in Southwestern Alaska for many years but currently teaches school in Norridgework, Maine (1989) Illustrated by Teri Sloat who had lived and taught in Yup'ik villages in Southwestern Alaska for many years.
Grade Level: K-3 (Primary) Theme: Picture Story Book; Realistic FictionStatus: Recommended with reservation

Review

This eye-catching, bright, colorful book takes you into a young Yup'ik girls "rite of passage" as seen from an outsider's perspective. It is the custom amongst the Yup'ik people to present and honor their young people with a potlatch as they present their first public dance. This custom is still practiced in some of the communities in Western Alaska and varies in presentation from village to village, so that it is hard to determine whether the author who is non-Native was able to convey the true understanding and meaning behind these practices. The author is grateful to Waska Charles from Emmonak for his reading of the manuscript and corrected the Yup'ik spelling. The illustrations are colorful and beautifully presented, although some have minor misrepresentation of the cultural group portrayed.

Season: Fall, Winter

Suggested Teaching Topics
  • Differences between Yup'ik and Inupiaq -look at the illustrations - which culture do they represent e.g a polar bear lives within the land of the Inupiaqs-why would people want to interchange between the two cultures in this case e.g dance skin drums - what are they made of from the two cultural regions?
  • Rite -of -Passage Ceremony -new clothing-processing -giving and sharing
  • Naming ceremony -was this a practice done in private or public forum-is this practice still used be the people -emphasizing the Yup'ik names of those that have passed on
  • Spirituality -what are some of the beliefs and practices - are these beliefs and practices still being done
  • Value of the Drum -what materials are used in making drums-who was responsible for making the drum-who were the owners of the drum-who were the drummers and why
  • Songs -where and who originated the songs -how were the songs composed (verses and chorus) -does the song tell the story of the first dancer?
  • Traditional Kinship -relationship between those who have passed on and newborns-how namesakes are treated-special terms used in kinships

References:

It is recommended that those teachers who use this book should have a good understanding of the Yup'ik culture (recommended reading: Taprarmiuni Kassiyulriit/Stebbins Dance Festival) so that they can share with the students the correct Yup'ik content but also use this information to bring about discussions that may include the following topics:

A list of reviewers may be found at:
http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/IKS/HAIL/Nallunairvik.html

» HAIL Book Reviews

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