Between Aug. 14 and 19, Seattle-based Tahitian performance group Te`arama conducted cultural exchanges with communities around the lower Kenai Peninsula. Coordinated by the Pratt Museum, Te’arama performed for and alongside members of the Kenaitze Indian Tribe, Ninilchik Traditional Council, Nanwalek Village and Port Graham Village. In each community, they presented short workshops on traditional drumming and dancing styles from Tahiti. Among the opportunities offered by generous Kenai communities, Te’arama members were invited to the Ninilchik Traditional Council’s setnet site, enjoyed extended stays and travel by skiff between Nanwalek and Port Graham, and visited the Kenaitze Indian Tribe’s K’Beq Heritage Site. In addition to pickup basketball games and riding four wheelers in the woods, conversations overheard spanned the importance of language preservation, contemporary music, the impact of colonialism in urban and village settings and cultural pride.

A finale performance as part of the Homer Council on the Arts’s Aerial and Dance Festival rounded out the exciting week.