Produced By AHS: 2011 Nuche Bear Dance

Skyler Lomahaftewa, Bear Dance Chief of Randlette in Utah, oversees the dance in the film and invited AHS to participate. The Bear Dance, held at the time of the spring equinox, is associated with courtship and is unique to the Nuche. The Bear Dance is a woman’s dance, one in which she chooses her partner. It is a time for bands to come together as a tribe, visiting with relatives, playing games, mourning those who have passed, and welcoming new children to the tribe. Still popular, the Bear Dance today has adapted to modern demands, taking place later in the spring to better meet the needs of school and work schedules. Mamá-kwa-nhká-pu, e Bear Dance, Aiya, Hey, Heya!, Come Bear, Dance Bear, Dance! - A female bear, a protector of the mountains, awoke from hibernation and encountered a young Nuche hunter. e bear told the hunter never to kill bears and not to be in the mountains during the winter. She then taught him a dance that he was to teach to the rest of his people, and every year they were to gather and dance this dance in her honor. is ceremony and the sacred instruction that he received from the bear spirit ensures the Nuche that they will always be successful hunters.