Visual Stories

Video: Connecting to culture through dance at Cama-i in Bethel

BETHEL -- A city council member beckoned kids to a Native American hip-hop workshop, and then to one on belly dancing. People waited in line 45 minutes to buy $10 cups of Eskimo ice cream, or akutaq, with tundra berries, halibut and Crisco. On stage, one group of Bethel dancers reached deep to perform, only a year after their leader was killed in a house fire.

The cultural explosion that is Bethel's Cama-i Dance Festival is drawing thousands this weekend for dance and song, Native foods and family, dramatic regalia and live performances by a Yup'ik YouTube sensation.

Read more: Bethel’s Cama-i Dance Festival melds past and present, performers and audience

Tara Young

Tara Young was a video journalist for ADN.

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