Dance groups from across the Bering Strait region gathered in Wales September 4-6, 2026 for the Kingikmiut Dance Festival, a three-day event centered on sharing songs and dances that leaders say were absent from some communities for decades.
This year marked the event’s 25th anniversary.
Sixteen-year-old Cain Seetook was among his group’s younger drummers and dancers.
“It heals my heart and makes me happy. And I don’t know. That’s just it,” Seetook said.
Robert Tokeinna Jr. is Seetook’s uncle and the drum leader of the Kingikmiut Dance Group from Wales, AK.
“It was 50 years without drumming and singing, and this community had to overcome that, had to overcome being told not to express who they are,” Tokeinna said to the crowd during an intermission. “And today we get to express it with our kids here, with our aunts and uncles, with our grandparents.”
Tokeinna said it’s been a long road to rebuild dancing in Wales. He said missionaries and forced assimilation policies in the 20th century suppressed dance, song, and language, interrupting the teaching that once happened between generations. In Wales, the group began its revival in the ‘90s with few songs and limited participation.
He said he dreams of having 20 drummers in the group one day. At this year’s festival, roughly 15 lined up to perform.
“My vision is coming true,” Tokeinna told the crowd. “My vision of having 20 drummers sitting next to me is coming true.”
Listen to the full story here.
