Introduction

Despite the close cultural commonalities they once shared, contemporary Yupik on St. Lawrence Island and Iñupiat in Utqiaġvik, Alaska, have experienced Euro-American colonisation and capitalism differently. These disparities are played out in various cultural fields including their Indigenous dance and song. Using dance performances in the two regions as an entry point, this study explores the nature and structure of Yupik and Iñupiaq aesthetic forms of expression, sociality, indigeneity and the meanings of tradition wrought by political, economic and historical events. This chapter introduces theoretical context and cultural and economic backgrounds of Indigenous dances among St. Lawrence Island Yupik and Iñupiat in Utqiaġvik.