Film Clips

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DV

Nan - Grizzly Bear Dance

View Transcript Video Downloads Transcript txt / 384B
Video mp4 / 0:53 / 12MB
Video ogv / 0:53 / 19.6MB
Video webm / 0:53 / 7.6MB
Video mp4 DV / 0:53 / 16.6MB
Video ogv DV / 0:53 / 10.4MB
Video webm DV / 0:53 / 13.8MB

A man standing with legs apart and hands held high, wearing potlatch regalia of a sarong and headdress-style mask.

A shirtless man wears a decorated sarong and a headdress-style mask with an animal pelt attached. He moves around the performers circle, making slow deliberate squats. Another man follows behind him, shaking a rattle.

A small black bear faces the camera while standing on the shore foraging for food.

Film footage shows a small black bear along the shore foraging for food. Small fish jump in the nearby water, catching its attention.

Shirtless man wearing a headdress-style mask stands in profile before a dance curtain and points to the right.

Inside, the man begins to dance.

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DV

Sap´a - Echo Dance

View Transcript Video Downloads Transcript txt / 761B
Video mp4 / 1:07 / 19.2MB
Video ogv / 1:07 / 27.3MB
Video webm / 1:07 / 9.1MB
Video mp4 DV / 1:07 / 21.5MB
Video ogv DV / 1:07 / 15.7MB
Video webm DV / 1:07 / 11.4MB

A black bear stands in the woods. The bear appears to be foraging for food in a setting of twigs, ferns and undergrowth.

Film footage: A black bear wanders though the woods.

A potlatch dancer wears a ceremonial mask and black cape, his arms stretch to the right. Behind him sit a number of people.

In the bighouse, a man wears a ceremonial mask carved to resemble a bear. Shirtless, he wears a black sarong and cape. Fur is attached to the top of the mask and extends down his back as he dances for the group.

A black bear is turning over a rock on a beach in a search for food.

Outside, the bear forages along a shoreline, overturning rocks. Inside, the performer digs into the sand floor, mimicking the bear’s movements.

A potlatch dancer wearing a bird mask and black cape crouches and hops along the dirt floor of the big house.

Now the performer is shielded by blankets, then emerges wearing a bird mask and hops along the ground.

A raven in flight with wings stretched out appears against a slightly cloudy blue sky background.

Outside a raven flies across the sky.

A carved cedar log drum dominates the image. Three wooden sticks strike the drum.

Drummers use thick wooden sticks and keep the beat on a long, bark-less log laid along the floor.

A potlatch dancer moves through the forest, his face and body covered by dance costume.

In nature, a man wears another mask, his body is covered in moss, branches and hair; he dances among the trees.

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DV

Bak´was, Wildman-of-the-woods dance

View Transcript Video Downloads Transcript txt / 651B
Video mp4 / 0:54 / 13.6MB
Video ogv / 0:54 / 16MB
Video webm / 0:54 / 7.3MB
Video mp4 DV / 0:54/ 17MB
Video ogv DV / 0:54 / 10.1MB
Video webm DV / 0:54 / 14.8MB

A potlatch scene where Wildman of the woods is hiding behind a pink blanket surrounded by four men.

Four men unwrap a large pink blanket to reveal the performer from the woods hunched down low, and still dressed in the costume that covers his entire body in fur-like hair, moss and tree branches. His face is covered in a ceremonial mask with long dark hair. The men encourage him and he slowly begins to straighten and stand as if lured by the drumbeat and the men’s encouragement.

Wildman of the woods covered with fur, moss and branches, his hand held over his face, concealing it from view.

Keeping his masked face lowered, he moves slowly and deliberately as if taking in his surroundings. A man shakes a rattle to lure him forward. He touches the sand covered floor and inhales the scent, then looks around as if continuing to explore his new environment.

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DV

Gwa'yam, Whale dance

View Transcript Video Downloads Transcript txt / 548B
Video mp4 / 0:50 / 16.4MB
Video ogv / 0:50 / 10.8MB
Video webm / 0:50 / 13.3MB
Video mp4 DV / 0:50 / 16.4MB
Video ogv DV / 0:50 / 10.8MB
Video webm DV / 0:50 / 13.3MB

A red and green button blanket appears to the left of a brightly painted whale mask with pectoral fins open.

Another performance begins. The dancer wears a large hat-style carving in the shape of a whale, painted in black, white, red and green.

The dorsal fins of a large and a small killer whale break the surface of the ocean, behind which a forested shoreline appears.

Film footage: killer whales swim in the ocean, their dorsal fins above the water line. Water spurts through their blowholes, then they submerge; only their flukes protrude above the water. They move gracefully through the water, submerging and re-emerging as they play… Inside the dancer moves as if he is a whale in the water.

Dance assistants surround a whale mask, eagle down resembling water is blown from a spout into the air.

Eagle down spews out of a hole in the mask, simulating water through the blowhole.

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DV

Undersea Kingdom dance

View Transcript Video Downloads Transcript txt / 368B
Video mp4 / 0:28 / 5.6MB
Video ogv / 0:28 / 5.2MB
Video webm / 0:28 / 2.3MB
Video mp4 DV / 0:28 / 12.4MB
Video ogv DV / 0:28 / 5.7MB
Video webm DV / 0:28 / 10.3MB

Flames, smoke and glowing ashes appear at the left of the image with a dramatically lit masked dancer at the right.

The bighouse is dark; the fire roars in the center of the room. Performers wear intimidating masks in a variety of shapes and sizes, many adored with feathers, hair or fur. The performers wear capes in blacks and deep reds, decorated with buttons, beads and embroidery. Shown in slow motion, they worship the fire and move as if inhabiting the animal totems they wear.

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DV

West-coast Wolf dancer

View Transcript Video Downloads Transcript txt / 345B
Video mp4 / 0:31 / 8.5MB
Video ogv / 0:31 / 6.5MB
Video webm / 0:31 / 6.2MB
Video mp4 DV / 0:31 / 8.7MB
Video ogv DV / 0:31 / 6.4MB
Video webm DV / 0:31 / 6.3MB

A dancer wearing a wooden hat-like mask appears with her back to the camera, two other women in red capes face the camera.

Women wear carved wooden hat-like masks; flat with animal faces on the side and filled with straw like a barge. Over top of their clothing, their torsos are wrapped in red fabric. A man follows behind each woman, unraveling the red fabric as they dance around the fire. Four elder women stand in witness, wearing red capes; two wear headdresses.

Lesson 8