It is customary for the Cama’i Dance Festival to dedicate the event to at least one inspiring individual whose legacy helped to shape and preserve our cultural traditions in the delta. The Cama’i Dance Festival is deeply honored to recognize the contributions of Stanley Cakicenaq Masgun Waska of Emmonak and dedicates this year’s event to his memory.

Stanley was born on January 17th, 1917 in the old village of Kuigmiut and lived in the village of Hamilton where he worked at the local store and commercial fished during the summer months. He then lived the rest of his life in Emmonak.

He married his wife Jane, and together they had nine children. He lived a traditional subsistence lifestyle as a hunter and fisherman and was very self-sufficient. He excelled in the craft of bending wood and used those skills to make drums and wooden sleds.

He composed yuraq songs and developed choreography to bring the stories to life. In this work, he was featured in the documentary film “Uksuum Cauyai” or “Drums of Winter,” which was dedicated to his memory.

Stanley was very friendly and was well-known and well-liked throughout the YK Delta. This was evident at his “standing room” only funeral service in Emmonak. The venue had to be changed to the local school gymnasium to accommodate the number of people who showed up from far and wide to pay their last respects to him. He was laid to rest in Hamilton.

We pay tribute to Stanley’s memory by ensuring that we are doing our part to continue to reverberate the drums of our ancestors.