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Link: Arctic Sounder Inupiaq elders and the Christian church congregation in Noorvik, near Kotzebue, have voted to overturn a century-old ban on traditional dancing in the village. Missionaries instituted the ban because they associated dancing with shamanism, and generations of villagers have grown up without learning the moves. Motivation for the vote was Noovik's selection as the first U.S. community to be counted in the 2010 census. Villagers want dancing to be part of the celebration and have brought dancers from other communities to hold classes. "It's a long story of how Eskimo dancing was taken away from our culture," said Hendy Ballot Sr., Noorvik tribal administrator. "We're a generation that is pretty much losing all our Native culture, language, lifestyle and traditions, like dancing."