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A star-studded lineup of guests entertained the crowd at Nome’s Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebration Monday. Over twenty children danced in front of the stage as both elders and youth beat on various size drums.
The Savoonga Dance Group happened to be passing through Nome during the Indigenous Peoples’ Day Celebration as they traveled to Anchorage for AFN. They stepped in at the last minute after the scheduled performers, the Nome Diomede Dance Group, had to withdraw after an unexpected death. The group performed a number of rousing songs to applause from the crowd.
The first of a trio of star-guests then took the stage. Ten-time American Ninja Warrior competitor, Nick Hanson, served as co-emcee for the event. During a speech, he said native games not only keep him in touch with his heritage, they’re the perfect preparation for American Ninja Warrior.
“As an Alaska Native person and an athlete, the way that I stayed connected was through the games, and I wanted to showcase that in a specific way,” Hanson said. “One of the ways that I was able to do that was through American Ninja Warrior.”
The native of Unalakleet announced he was returning to the show for an 11th time. He then took the opportunity to share that after the loss of three of his high school basketball teammates, he attempted suicide. On the other side of that moment, he found hope in an eighth-grade boy that told him about the sports-game show.
Now, the 36-year-old wants to take his experience and spread it, in the hopes of saving others.
“Every single year that I apply for the show, I ask myself, ‘well, what are you really doing this for?’ The only thing that I want to do is hopefully save one life in this world because I've been there before. I've been to that point where I needed to be saved,” Hanson said.
Putting his emcee hat back on, Hanson got the evening’s potluck dinner started. Moose stew, salmon, muktuk, and fry bread awaited the crowd. But first, Hanson let kids run through the line to ferry plates full of food to elders waiting at tables throughout the Nome Recreation Center.
While the crowd worked through the line and enjoyed their dinner, a short film produced by the Village of Solomon called “One of Our Own” was played. This was the film’s second-showing in the Recreation Center after it debuted in May for the community’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Day event.
The night’s second special guest, Reservation Dogs star D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, was then invited to the stage for an interview. He began by introducing himself to the crowd.
“My people reside on the First Nations reservation, Big Trout Lake in Northwestern Ontario, Cree Ojibwe and Cree Reservation. This is my first time up in Nome, Alaska. Thank you guys very much for having me in this beautiful community,” Woon-A-Tai said.
Hanson then asked Woon-A-Tai what it meant to be indigenous.
“I think what it means to be indigenous for me is to keep the traditions of my people, specifically in Ontario, going, keeping our family legacy going, and everything that we've been doing for centuries. I think that we're all walking pieces of history. So I think continuing our traditions, our way of life, listening to our elders, learning our languages, is definitely what indigenous means to me.”
- D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai
Woon-A-Tai was also asked for his take on indigenous Alaskan foods, to which he gave an answer only an Emmy-nominated actor like himself could convincingly deliver.
“I think I like whale. That was cool, that was, it was very chewy, I’m not used to that, but I loved it. I swallowed it. I did it! I mean, in all seriousness, we have salmon where I'm from, and I got a chance to eat salmon over here as well. But I'm telling you, this is the best salmon I've ever had,” Woon-A-Tai said.
A fashion show followed Woon-A-Tai’s interview, with adults and children alike donning their favorite kuspuks, mukluks, and fur coats strutting down a red carpet placed on the half court line of the gym. The crowd hooped and hollered as co-emcee Fawn White introduced each participant and details of their attire.
Inuit-soul music group Pamyua took the stage to finish out the evening and performed a series of songs over the course of over an hour. At the demand of the crowd, they played one last song, a traditional Yup’ik dance. Pamyua singer Aassanaaq "Ossie" Kairaiuak invited the crowd to the front for one last dance.
“Come dance with us and celebrate our identity with us. And if you make a mistake, your mistakes are forgiven already. Dance with us and celebrate the heck out of our Indigenous Peoples’ Day today,” Kairaiuak said.
