Heartbeat Alaska: Mekoryuk Reindeer Messenger Festival

Heartbeat Alaska: Mekoryuk Reindeer Messenger Festival aired on January 14, 2003, and featured a historical look at Nunivak Island, where the village of Mekoryuk is located. In the 1930s when missionaries established a church on the island, the Cupik dances were banned. In 2003, they held the first Reindeer Messenger Festival in over 60 years in Mekoryuk in order to revive those dances. The following people appeared in the episode: Marvin Kiokun, Hultman, Kiokun, Albert Williams, Howard Amos, George Williams, Sr., Kay Hendrickson (1909-2001), John Oscar, and Betty David. Table of contents: History of Nunivak Island Reindeer Messenger Festival Jeanie Greene Heartbeat Alaska Film Collection, Sequoyah National Research Center, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, JG_0382. All rights reserved. Note: Duplicate recording of JG_0037 and JG_0207. Radio version is JG_0043.