Katiluta makes a comeback

Last Thursday, April 30, a crowd of young people gathered around a table in the Mini Convention Center as Roy Ashenfelter lead a demonstration on processing salmon with an ulu.
Earlier in the day, there had been lessons on making fur flowers, beading techniques and a 101 session on the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, or ANCSA.
The air smelled like fry bread and there was a constant chatter as audience members caught up with one another or perfected their craft skills.
Katiluta had begun.
The presentations and workshops were part of the three-day Katiluta Cultural Festival, put on by Bering Straits Native Corporation, Kawerak Inc., Sitnasuak Native Corporation, Nome Eskimo Community and the Bering Straits Foundation.
Attendees at the festival learned traditional crafts, attended workshops on ANCSA and regulatory processes, and gathered for two nights of traditional dance performances. An art market offered art and jewelry pieces. The festival visited Nome Public Schools as well.
On day one, attendees gathered at the Mini Convention Center for workshops, including fish cutting and sessions on ANCSA, traditional crafts and on wildlife regulation processes.
Nicole Borromeo, the president of the ANCSA Regional Association, gave the “ANCSA 101” talk on Thursday. The talk detailed how ANCSA came to be. She went back into history and began with the Russian control of Alaska, on to the purchase of Alaska by the United States and to oil being discovered in Prudhoe Bay. Borromeo explained regional and village corporations, profit sharing and mineral and resource rights. Borromeo reminded the audience that the federal government didn’t give Alaska Natives land. “We relinquished our title. We retained some of that land. The federal government didn’t give it to us,” she said. “We claimed title to the whole state of Alaska and the federal government paid us to relinquish our claims to the other portions of the state.”
Kelsi Ivanoff, the Indigenous Stewardship Director at Native Peoples Action, gave a talk on hunting and fishing regulatory processes. Ivanoff also sits on the Seward Peninsula Regional Advisory Council and the Southern Norton Sound Advisory Committee. Ivanoff explained the complex processes through which hunting and fishing rights are managed in Alaska and encouraged members of the audience to get involved. Ivanoff pointed out that the regulatory spaces often feel hostile. “These spaces weren’t built for Native people. They are very Western,” she said. “Don’t let that deter you, because it’s in your heart to fight for our inherent rights.”
On Friday, the festival started in the afternoon with a lesson on cultural dance, followed by a community potluck. In the evening, attendees gathered for dance performances by the Nome King Island Dancers, the Nome St. Lawrence Island Dancers and the Qughsatkut Dancers from Gambell.
On Saturday, artists and vendors sold wares at an art market in the Rec Center, all while the Community Inupiaq Choir sang and Nome-Beltz Native Youth Olympics team gave demonstrations on NYO games.
In the evening, there were more dance performances at Nome Elementary School.
In November 2015, a Katiluta celebration was held in Nome to celebrate Alaska Native and Native American Heritage Month. Another Katiluta followed in February 2017.  Last week’s festival shares the same name and its revival was an effort by BSNC and other organizations. Ana Grayson with BSNC said that staff realized that the Bering Strait region didn’t have a cultural festival, unlike many other regions across the state. They reached out to other organizations in the area to look into holding a festival in Nome. “Nome is the biggest community, and there are many residents here who are from other villages in the region, who I think would appreciate our festival,” she said.
Sara Leckband, also with BSNC, said that the festival is about community and sharing knowledge. “Our young people have a space that they can come and celebrate and learn,” she said.
Leckband said that one of the reasons they wanted to start the cultural festival was to create a dedicated space for Elders to pass on knowledge. There were presentations in the schools and a big part of the festival was teaching adults who wanted to learn traditional knowledge. “They maybe didn’t have a space when they were growing up to learn,” she said. “Sharing the knowledge was a big part of it.”
On Saturday, MaryJane Litchard had a table at the art market at the Rec Center and was selling her artwork and hand creams. On Thursday, she’d taught a workshop on how to make fur flowers. She said it’s good to be able to teach people about arts that were restricted and banned. She had to learn how to make fur flowers on her own and was able to pass that knowledge on at Katiluta, to mostly adult students. “I guess they were happy to learn something brand new,” she said. “They were happy to make things, see what they created.”
Lisa Lynch was selling earrings and elaborate beaded necklaces. She had also taught a class on beading techniques. Everyone in her family does art or crafts, and she learned traditional techniques from them. She likes teaching others, too. “Being able to pass on that knowledge helps them feel more confident and secure, and it leads them to maybe a hobby,” she said.
Grayson said that Katiluta was about creating community and a space to learn from one another, where traditional knowledge can be passed on. It’s in the name – she said that Katiluta means to “gather together.”