Dancing With The Spirit

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone! December 12th, we watched the full moon rise over the snow-covered mountains around Arctic Village.  Some of the smaller kids didn't come to school at the beginning of the week because it was 50 degrees below zero!  But we had a huge potlatch, student concert, and dance on Friday.  The kids sang and played Jingle Bells, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Away in the Manger, Silent Night, the Little Drummer Boy--and We Wish You a Merry Christmas in Gwich'in. Two elders, the Rev. Trimble Gilbert and Gideon James, taught with us all week and told stories of Christmas…

To all the kids of Beaver, Stevens Village and Tanana, You have really touched my heart with your thank you letters and hosting your village to us. Remember you are the future leaders for your villages in the places of your Ancestors. They still depend on you to preserve your subsistence way of living (a federal law) and same time finish your high school and then college. With these wisdoms you will someday make great differences in your villages. Respect your elders for they are your foundation. Respect everyone else's property because they may help you in times of need…

". . . With God's love our seeds will grow."SUMMER REPORT on the DANCING with THE SPIRIT PROGRAMBy Pete Peter        Pete Peter and others spent the beginning of the Summer traveling to Tanana, Arctic Village, Beaver, the Episcopal Youth Event in Texas, and the Navajo Reservation as teachers for the "Dancing with the Spirit" Program. Here's Pete's account of their travels.       Early May and June 2008 we taught in Tanana, Arctic Village and Beaver! We taught the fiddle, guitar, mandolin, bass and the skin drum to the kids. We also taught prayers, God's love and…