ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the elements that St. Lawrence Island Yupik and Iñupiaq dance and song consist of. It examines how drum, song and choreography are made, how dance performance is structured and how social relationships among humans are formed through the dance performance on St. Lawrence Island and in Utqiaġvik. The ownerships of indigenous songs are critical in both communities. Generation and cultivation of social relationships are one of the most important components of indigenous dance in Alaska. Indigenous dance exemplifies creativity and conservatism in artistic form among performers and a continuity of emotional and social power inescapable in dance performance.
