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FEATURE ARTICLE
When possible, links for each photo to its original context have been provided. These are external links and will open in an outside website. Please read disclaimer.
Please report any broken links to webmaster.
Cindy James has been an Accounting Clerk with Ronald Wastewater District since 2006, but when she is not hard at work as a public servant for the District ratepayers she is preserving and spreading Tsimshian culture as part of the Git-hoan (People of the Salmon) Native Dance Group.
The Git-hoan Native Dance Group presents a
visually stunning show that features dance,
song, and storytelling providing a glimpse into
the rich history and culture of the Tsimshian people
from the Pacific coastal areas of northern
British Columbia and southeastern Alaska.
The dancers are both astonishing and mesmerizing
with their energy and voices.
The Git-hoan Native Dance Group incorporates some
of the finest Northwest Native Art by David Boxley,
a Tsimshian carver from Metlakatla, Alaska, including
several stunning handcarved masks. Gifted in both song
and dance the performers bring these masks to life for their
awed audiences worldwide.
Cindy has been involved with the Git-hoan
Native Dance Group since its inception in 2000,
and her children have grown up with the culture.
Members of Cindy’s family have also joined the dance group and their participation has given them the opportunity to travel as a family to many areas of the country. The Git-hoan Native Dance Group had the privilege to perform at the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C., one of their most memorable trips.
Cindy is originally from Ketchikan, Alaska and currently lives in Shoreline with her family. She discovered her culture when she was 14, and was influenced by the late Cecilia White, the leader of the Capefox Dance Group originally from Saxman Alaska, with whom Cindy has also performed.
The Tsimshian people trace their roots and ancestry to the Tsimshian village of Metlakatla in southeast Alaska. The Git-hoan Native Dance Group shares a commitment to preserving and spreading the traditional dances of this culture once on the verge of extinction, and to revitalize and carry on the rich culture of their tribe. It is in this spirit that Cindy says she hopes “people take from their performances a new awareness of the culture and who they are as a people, ‘that we are alive”!
The Git-hoan Dancers recently performed to a full house on Feb 23 at the Shorecrest Performing Arts Center in Shoreline and will soon perform in Arizona, British Columbia, and Milan, Italy this spring at the Del Naviglio Festival.
