Former members of a Native dance group that disbanded in the 1990s have resurrected the group and are teaching traditional songs and dances weekly at the Chilkoot Indian Association office and ANB Hall.
The Gei San Dancers, led primarily by Paulina Phillips and her son Ryan “Stitch” Phillips, have been meeting weekly at 1 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays to practice Tlingit songs and dances. Both Paulina and Stitch danced in the group decades ago before it disbanded.
The group was founded by elder Austin Hammond in the late 1970s. The group took their name, Gei San, from the Tlingit word for Mount Ripinsky.
When the group was at its strongest, it had two to three dozen members, Stitch said. Right now there are about a dozen. In its first incarnation, the group was also mainly comprised of elders like George and Matilda Lewis, Charlie Jimmie Sr. and Marilyn Wilson. Stitch remembers being the youngest member at about 20.
Now, the group is primarily populated by young participants in their late teens and early 20s who are interested in learning about and preserving their culture, Stitch said.
“We are happy they are willing to learn them,” he said. “It’s encouraging.”
In addition to dancing and singing, the sessions have included explanations from elders on the stories behind the songs, where they came from, and what they are about.
The group recently performed at the library and will perform at the Southeast Alaska State Fair this summer. They also hope to travel to next year’s Sealaska Celebration, a Juneau-based Native gathering.
Local historian Lee Heinmiller has been lending the Gei San group regalia for their dance sessions.
The Gei San Dancers are separate from the Chilkat Dancers. The name “Chilkat Dancers,” was initially used for a one-time event in 1952. In 1957, Heinmiller’s father Carl Heinmiller started a dance troupe called the Chilkat Dancers that performed for tourists and at events across the nation until disbanding in 2000.
The Jilkaat Kwaan Heritage Dancers began dancing in recent years, and a separate group broke off from them and re-adopted the name Chilkat Dancers, Heinmiller said. There are technically three dance groups now in the valley, Heinmiller said.
The Gei San weekly dance sessions meet at the Chilkoot Indian Association office or ANB Hall. Call John Hagen at 766-2323 ext. 105 for more information.