Seal Dance / Snowboarding Qyah Style
From Molly of Denali · 2020
Summary
An approaching storm forces Molly, Grandpa Nat, and Mom to make an unplanned landing on the Aleutian island of Atka, where Molly makes a new friend who teaches her a traditional Unangax Seal Dance. Then, inspired by her cousin Randall's snowboarding videos, Molly decides to film her own — and quickly learns that snowboarding, let alone adding tricky "Qyah Style" moves, is much harder than it looks.
Viewer safety
Our rating is a quick teacher-to-teacher guide — preview before showing.
Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Discussion
An unplanned stop turned into a chance for Molly to learn something new about another Alaska Native community.
- Why did Molly, Grandpa Nat, and Mom have to land on Atka unexpectedly?
- What did Molly's new friend teach her, and what is it called?
- What did Molly discover about snowboarding once she actually tried it herself?
- Why is it sometimes easier to appreciate a skill or tradition once you've tried to learn it yourself?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: tradition, Unangax, practice, persistence, community.
Try it: Learn a simple dance step, clap pattern, or hand game from a family member or friend. Teach it to someone else and describe how it felt to learn something new.