Bering Land Bridge

Russian Whaling Song

This song is a cross-cultural song, sung both in Alaska and Russia. I have been told that the song itself comes from Point Hope, Alaska and was composed by either the grandmother or great-grandmother of the late Ernie Frankson. The motions are Russian and come from Chaplino (Ungaziq) and Uelen in Chukotka.

Below is a recording of when the Iñu-Yupiaq Dance Group was first taught the song (the video also contains a 2008 version of a ‘photo-bomb’).

Bering Land Bridge

This song was composed to show the strong connections between Chukotka and St. Lawrence Island. I’ve seen this dance typically performed in three parts:

1. soft beat
2. drum beat (no singing)
3. hard beat

The video below only shows the song performed in two parts.