In the quiet community of Wales, where the land meets the Bering Strait just 55 miles from Russia, life has its own steady rhythm. With a population of about 150, the village is often still and serene. But once a year, the Kingikmiut School gym bursts to life with the thunder of drums, colorful kuspuks, the shuffle of moccasins, and voices raised in song.
This year marked the 24th Kingikmiut Dance Festival, affectionately known as the “sleepless festival.” For three days and nights, dancing and drumming filled the heart of the village, drawing together over 200 people from across Alaska. Six dance groups performed into the early morning hours, filling the gym with energy, laughter, and tradition.
Robert Tokeinna Jr., president of the Native Village of Wales and drum leader for the Kingikmiut dance group, shared why this gathering matters: “It’s important because it shows the kids who they are. It might be just a shadow, but it’s something they can own.”
Since its start in 2000, the festival has only missed one year – during the pandemic. What began as a way to bring more drumming and singing into the community has grown into a cultural homecoming, a place where children learn through story and song, and where elders see traditions come alive again.
Mary Anne Olanna Oxereok, who has cooked meals for the festival since its beginning, says the event revived something once lost. “When I was growing up, they cut off the dancing. I don’t even know how to dance. But I’m happy the children have it today.”
The festival is also a time of reconnection. Dancers and drummers who live far away – like Tungwenuk, now in Anchorage – return to honor their Kingikmiut roots. “It provides an opportunity for all of us to come together, in spite of our differences. We share coffee, visit, sing the same songs, and sometimes even make mistakes on some songs.”
The weekend closes with a moment that seems to capture the spirit of it all: every group, every dancer, every drummer filling the gym, their voices and rhythms rising as one. In that moment, the walls of the school gym seem too small to contain the joy, pride, and faith that bind this community together.
In Wales, tradition lives on – beating steady in the drums, carried forward in the feet of the next generation.
