Media Advisory

TO                         News and Features Editors, PSA Directors

FROM                     UAF Alaska Native Studies

SUBJECT                UAF'S FESTIVAL OF NATIVE ARTS CELEBRATES 25 YEARS OF TRADITION

LOCATION              Charles Davis Concert Hall, UAF

DATE & TIME          Performances: 6 p.m. - midnight, March 5, 6 and 7
                              Spring Fever Raffle: Saturday, 9 p.m.

Sixteen dance groups and more than 40 artisans are participating in the 25th Festival of Native Arts at the University of Alaska Fairbanks March 5, 6 and 7.

Performers in a dozen different groups have traveled from remote villages and represent Athabaskan, Yup'ik, Aleut, Iñupiak, Gwinch'in, Tlinglit/Haida and Tsimshian dance traditions. Four dance groups are Fairbanks-based.

The Festival of Native Arts was established at UAF in 1974 to help first generation Native college students adapt to life outside the villages, while giving them a chance to honor their heritage and express their aboriginal identities.

At this year's festival singer Robert Charlie will be illustrating modern Native life. Charlie is an Athabaskan from Minto known for country style music. He will sing solo Thursday night, March 5, focusing on sobriety and influences of both modern and traditional life.

Students have prepared for the festival for five months, organizing and rehearsing performances as well as producing a 16-page souvenir booklet.

In addition to the performances, Native arts will be displayed on crafts tables in the foyer of the Great Hall during the entire festival.

CONTACT: Kyan Olanna or Carol Hollingsworth, UAF Alaska Native Studies Office, (907) 474-7181

IS/3-5-98/98-037ma