One Vision, Many Voices

. . . . . . . . Early October in Leningrad. All across Russia, Soviet citizens are preparing for the anniversary of their 1917 revolution.

At the same time, 67 Alaskans, singers, dancers, and musicians have come here for a celebration of their own. I hope to give, I think, something of myself and to take a message to the Russian people, to be a true citizen diplomat, and that is to say that your government may tell you something about our government. Our government tells us things about your government. But this is the way we can really get to know one another. This is me. This is what I am. This is what I do. I hope you like it, or I hope you can come to like it, or at least get to know it. They call themselves the Alaska Performing Artists for Peace, and they're on a three-week, 12,000-mile tour that will take them back and forth across the entire length of the Soviet Union. The most important factor in our going and going as gospel singers is that the gospel

singers is a statement within itself, because Russia is known as a communist country who is religious belief or not as evident as ours. And so the idea that these five black women would go and sing about love, peace, understanding between brothers and sisters was a statement within itself, and I think that was our message. At the heart of the ensemble are the Alaskan Eskimo performers, seven of whom are from St. Lawrence Island, an outpost of America just 45 miles from the Chukotka Peninsula on the Russian mainland. These seven are related by blood, language, and custom to Eskimos living

in Siberia. Friends and relations not seen or heard from in almost 50 years. Now these American Eskimos have come to Russia for an unprecedented family reunion. But Reuters, concerned with a globe forarians who are nationwide available to the U.S. So, thanks to the product, I would choose to create a new in work. I would discover that would only be an disc not only for a young woman, but for a young way. If you don't know how to talk about it, you're going to have to talk about it. But if you don't know how to talk about it. While the reasons for coming maybe as varied as their backgrounds,

collectively, the Alaskan share a single vision, a vision that goes far beyond their hour-long program of music, dance, and mind. To share with them, to share music, to share the hopes for a brighter future, where we could get together and talk. I didn't want to go over with any accusatory manner. What are you doing in Afghanistan? And then instantly have them say, what are we doing in Central America? And go nowhere with it, but heads. I wanted to go and just, here's our performance, very non-political, non-threatening. And in turn, have a reciprocal gift from them. That's what we're basically doing, gift giving, argumentless. What I know about it is unique. Taking an Alaskan performing troop to Russia,

and at the same time trying to reunite American and Soviet Eskimos, was an idea developed by Dixie Belcher, and world shaker from Juneau, Alaska's capital. I was a quand director for a group called the Saint Paul Singers for 10 years, and I saw the effect of music and audiences, some overwhelming effects, and I had the idea that it would be really fun to do this internationally and do it for peace. So, in the summer of 1985, Bella Hammond, who is the wife of former Governor J. Hammond, and I traveled around the state finding Eskimo performing trips that would like to go to the Soviet Union, and particularly Eskimo performing trips that were relatives of the Soviet Eskimos. Yeah! Oh, my God! The Tsarunga comedy players were an obvious choice, one because they're comedy transplants, everything, they're wonderfully funny,

and also because, obviously, they live 45 or 50 miles away from the Soviet coast, and their relatives are over there. A year and a half after Dixie first proposed her idea and less than a week before they are to leave for Russia, six Alaskan amateur performing trips assembled this campground retreat north of Anchorage. The performers' enthusiasm is tempered by the knowledge that they will have just five days to meld their individual acts into a cohesive program. Besides the constraints of time, there are other difficulties facing the Alaskans. The six groups have never met each other before, let alone perform together.

Additionally, each group has its own artistic director and each director, a different idea about how the program should be organized. During all of our rehearsals at Kings Lake, at the beginning, we came together for the first time. Each group had their own little performance and we started in putting it together. We were going to hear from the gospel singers who were going to hear from the Juno choir, the cloggers, and one after another. Greg Pease is a member of the Juno choir, peace activist, and co-producer of the 1985 Soviet Alaska Space Bridge. Pretty soon, what we wanted to take to the Soviet Union a show that was maybe an hour and a 15 minutes an hour and a half long was three hours in length at Kings Lake. We all knew we had to cut that down to a manageable amount of time. How that was going to be done was going to be another trick and that was going to be performed by the directors

who were directing all the separate groups. We come in and once you're over there and then you're soft, then when the gospel group comes in and they're loud, and then once everybody says everybody is loud, then we're soft for the people that's going to follow. Finally, after two days of wrangling and lost rehearsal time, we wanted to design for the program as a grade two. The entire performance will be patterned after an Eskimo potlatch or gathering. The master of ceremonies at the potlatch will be John Pangayak, a teacher and subsistence hunter from Chivak, a village on the Yukon River Delta. It means life for people. It is a powerful symbol of joyous that our flufflers have served. It is a day, day, day, day, day, day, day, day, day, day, day, day, day, day, day, day, day, day. As the basement on, it comes like the show really did start to come together.

Our time now, the day, day, day, day, day, day, day, day, day. You will be on our own, our own, our own, our own, your own, your own. You will be on our own, our own, our own. The day, day, day, day, day, day, day, day, day, day. But our other major problem that Kings Lake is that we had all these people here from all over the state. We had a program and we still owed $70,000 and we had no idea, still at that point, where it was coming from. Even though I was supposed to do a lot of the directing during that time, I ended up making incredibly desperate phone calls, all over the nation, and actually all over the world, even to Australia. And it's Scotland, and in Copenhagen, I took context that would express some interest.

And it really was not until 1,30 Wednesday afternoon that we found out that we had enough money and that we were going. And we left at 7,30 in the morning on Thursday. It was very close. 36 hours after leaving King's Lake, the Alaska Performing Artist for Peace arrived in the Soviet Union.

Thoroughly exhausted, $70,000 in debt, badly in need of a few days off to reset their internal clocks, but determined not to miss a second of what interest has in store for them. After three days of tours and rehearsals, the Alaskans' first performance in the Soviet Union is now only hours away.

The site of that first performance is the palace of a long dead Tsarist aristocrat, remade into the Soviet American House of Friendship and Peace. That's it. Cindy, just watch my hand and step out. You're the first for you, you and the rest.

One of the terrifying things as a director was that I was taking a truly amateur group to a country that produces some of the best performers and performances in the world. And when I really thought about it, I was petrified. While the Alaskans continue rehearsing right up until the 11th hour, the Performing Hall begins to fill up early with an unexpected audience. Soviet Eskimos from Siberia, studying at the Leningrad Language Institute, have come to the concert ahead of time in hopes of meeting their relatives. One of the students mentions a name the St. Lawrence Islanders recognize immediately.

It's Nanuktak, a cousin of Cathy Newark. He's alive and well in Provedonia, just across the ocean from Cathy's home village. No, no, no, no. Very hungry, and it's very easy to give. Also, I apply all the reality. St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea about as far away as you can go and still be in the United States.

In these high northern latitudes where the superpowers are within hailing distance of each other, Cold War politics has played havoc with a thousand-year-old way of life, forcing international boundaries on this Eskimo nation and dividing their Arctic neighborhood. Generations before there were Russians and Americans competing for the bounty of the North. Eskimos had reached an accord with the elemental forces of the Arctic. Moving easily across ocean and ice, the Eskimos established settlements on both sides of the Bering Sea, taking from the waters what they needed to survive.

Ora Galagagan is one of the last American Eskimos to visit her relatives in Siberia. That visit took place in 1940. It turned out that the Messiah had been to see your

IS right away. It seems not a problem with you something in your words, it is not the fault you, but it is But it is very difficult to be wise. A A boy. This first encounter between American and Soviet Eskimos has taken the Alaskans totally by surprise.

They had not expected to meet with their kinsmen until later in the tour, in Prevedenia and the Chakutka Peninsula. With only an hour to go before their first performance, this reunion will have to be postponed until after the show. Right now, there are still rough edges in the performance that need smoothie. Seemingly, we rehearsed right up until we performed that first time. We still didn't know exactly what everyone was to do. There was a lot of anticipation. Our first audience, our first performance, a lot of anxiety among us. Whether it's going to come off OK, how we were going to be received. So, that apprehension showed in a lot of people's faces, and that anxiety kept up right up until the moment that I remember peeking around the corner

to see what kind of house we had, and it was jam-packed, wall-to-wall. There wasn't a seat in the house. Probably, I don't know, 800 people were in this performing hall. And I can remember just, oh my gosh, I hope this goes off all right. Oh, great, it's good to love.

Oh, great, it's good to love. When will we see it while we live in our blood? When there's a whole lot of things that we don't like about your love? And there's a whole lot of things that we can take for one another. But when you bring it all down, you're breaking it all down. You don't snap what you've got. You don't snap what you've got. No, no, no, no, no, no. Praise us due to love, all praise us due to love.

When will we see it while we live in our blood? When will we see it while we live in our blood? When will we see it while we live in our blood? ... You wait, you wait, you wait, it'll be you wait... ... Oops! I saw it, there was no one Good Mudberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberersberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberberber equitable

Go on. And run and I'll talk. Go on, I'll talk. Go on, I'll talk. Go on. A merchant from the New York Times. Go on. For example, it was a safeguard and identity in Africa. But it's another difficult job, however. But we need to study with an American professional organization. The answer is moving in the wind, the answer is moving in the wind, the answer is moving in the wind, the answer is moving in the wind, the answer is moving in the wind, the answer is moving

That makes me feel the way you live in the path. and one- sufficient in person

this co- superintendent such one- I'm not even excited to see you.

Hi. Just like your father. So, good luck. Good to be here. Good to meet you. Good to meet you. Good to meet you. Good to meet you. Good to meet you. Good to meet you. Good to meet you. Good to meet you. Good to meet you. Despite the surprising and heady success of their first concert, the Alaskans continue to critique and fine-tune their performance.

Delala Williams is the director of the Gospel Singers and shares overall responsibility for the entire performance. She backed your routine. If you did something wrong, I didn't see it. If you did something wrong, I didn't see it.

If you did something wrong, I didn't see it. If you did something wrong, I didn't see it. Surely, Satan, special education teacher, composer, world traveler and bringer of good tidings.

If you did something wrong, I didn't see it. Habarosk, six time zones and 5,000 miles from Leningrad, and 5,000 miles closer to the reunion in Provedenia.

The Alaskans have traveled all night by jet plane to arrive in the largest city in the Soviet Far East. They'll be here for just 24 hours. The fact that we weren't professionals and didn't do this all the time. And on occasion, I'm sure it must have looked like we were nervous or anxious. We got the audience on our side. They wanted us to do well, not only for their benefit but for ours as well. The planned reunion with their Soviet relatives is only part of the reason the Eskimos have

come to Russia. The other has to do with their centuries-old heritage of sharing through song and dance. The world is most likely most likely expected to be used to do with their projects. It would help the world to be never open or made." Seven-year-old Joe Ayaga-Rak senior from Chivac is the tour's elder statesman. At first, Joe Ayaga-Rakk is the academic elite, professor 5aged fellow. Hi, B

The next morning, the Alaskans have their second encounter with young Siberians. These students, however, are not bearing the Eskimos. They are chukchi and evinc reindeer herders from Siberia's interior. Because of disappointing news they received earlier in the morning, this meeting is especially meaningful for the Alaskan Eskimos. Due to conditions out of their control, the trip to the Chukchi Peninsula has been cancelled. The planned reunion between St. Lawrence Islanders and their relatives in providentia will not now take place. Of course our goal for this trip was a large reunification of the Eskimos and the Chukchi

Peninsula, which is the peninsula right directly across from Alaska. And it has been closed to all foreigners for many years and we didn't make it. I believe we didn't make it because I see diplomacy, international diplomacy as a chess game and it's not our turn. Part of the planning that went into the proposed visit to the Chukchi Peninsula called for the Alaskans to return home directly from providentia in our splain ride. Now that that idea has been scotched, the Alaskans turn back toward Moscow and European Russia. The stops on the long-haul west include Ilkutsk, Bratsk and Novosibirsk, all in the heart of Siberia. Everybody, come with me. Ready? One, two, three.

I'm going to express our deep feeling of gratitude that you've shown to everyone here that we are who you want to say. I'm not waiting for anyone to come and make a great day for us. There are no different than us. Do you think like us? They cry like us. They have little kids just like us. They have grandfathers just like us.

Brothers and sisters. So if you have feelings for all of those things, you know, they're no different. I think that as Alaskans, we were all very comfortable in Siberia and in the Soviet Far East because we found kindred souls, people that are independent, they have independent thinking, they're very warm, some ways they're loose like Alaskans. If there is such a thing as a sacred body of water, for the Russians, it's

like Baikal, the largest freshwater lake in the world. In the bratsk palace of culture, the Alaskans unfurl one of two

peace quilts they've brought for the women of Siberia. The most emotional moment for me during the war performances anywhere we were was the endurance dance. When John asked them to raise up their hands and join us in this ancient Eskimo dance of oneness, we put our hands up and they put their hands up as a one and rose up out of their chairs. The emotion that would sweep through me, I had tears

in my eyes. I think every performance when they did that, just that feeling of oneness with those audiences, with the Russian people who hear to for everyone had said they're your enemy. They are the enemies. They went with the enemy at all. They were just like I was dancing with me, dancing with all of us, together. Thank you.

Thank you. When you're in the center of one of the world's great bureaucracies, you do as the bureaucrats do. You hold a press conference.

How do you know this is still alive? I happened to meet a young man and some several children. I remember that man and he told me he'd sell a life. For this meeting, the Alaskans are joined by Gennady Karasimov, the spokesman for the Soviet Foreign Ministry, and Yuri Wretkew, a chute-chi author and Soviet sponsor of the Alaskan tour. Chuna McIntyre, one of the tour organizers and performers, closes the

press conference with a special presentation. This partner is a child's partner. This has many stories. It's like a book to us. I can read this as these days. You can read a book because of the legends in it. It has our ancestral mother and our father and all the aspirations of our people put into the pokka. So I present this on behalf of the Alaskan performing artists for peace to raise the global children. As a symbol, we, in this known particular universe, deserve the best. And the best that we can give each other is peace.

The 14th and final appearance in Russia of the Alaska performing artists for peace occurs at the National Center for Folk Arts Studies. Thank you. At this farewell concert, the Alaskans play in the smallest hall they've yet encountered,

and rather than feeling stifled, the forced intimacy charges their performance with greater energy and emotion. We are the world. We are the children. We are the ones to make a brighter day. We are the ones to make a brighter day.

We are the children. We are the ones to make a brighter day. We are the ones to make a brighter day. We are the ones to make a brighter day.

We are the ones to make a brighter day. We are the ones to make a brighter day. We are the ones to make a brighter day.

We are the ones to make a brighter day. I think the experience of the tour changed intensely all of our lives. You just can't go through an experience like that where every day everybody cries and everybody's hair stands straight up without really changing. And for me, I guess my whole life is the course of my life has changed. We are the ones to make a brighter day.

We are the ones to make a brighter day. We are the ones to make a brighter day. We are the ones to make a brighter day.

We are the ones to make a brighter day. Support for this program was provided by the Office of Community Education, Lower Cuscoquim School District, Bethel, Alaska, and by Alaska Airlines, Ryan Air Incorporated, and Mark Air Incorporated.

Thank you. Thank you.