Yuraq

Yuraqing is a form of dance, the type of instrument used is a traditional drum. The singers typically sing along with the beat of the drums, and the language they sing in is Yupik. The dancers go along with the rhythm and sounds of the drum. Yuraqing is a way to tell stories of the past and things that are done in the Native ways. Students learn more about their culture when interacting with Yupik dancing.

In the past Kuiggluk has hosted the dance festival and we look forward to hosting it again. The dance festival is awesome because students from different schools come and teach dances to everyone else. It’s important to learn about our culture through dance.

It is our goal to teach yuraq to younger students in the following years. Our middle school and high school students have learned to love yuraq and now they want to teach younger students. Yuraq is important to our culture, and teaching it to young people is the only way we can save it.