Anayaktuaq/Matia Wartes

My Iñupiaq name is Anayaktuaq and my English name is Matia Wartes. My father Inuksuk Marwan Wartes was born on the Colville River Delta on the edge of the Arctic Ocean and my Mother Kaviqsaaq Erin Parcher-Wartes was born in northern Washington. I attend Pearl Creek Elementary and am 12 years old. I enjoy school, dancing and my pets. I have been dancing with the Pavva Iñupiaq Dancers for the last seven years, since I was five years old. My Aapa (Grandpa) is Itqiliuraq Mark Wartes, and he helped me start dancing and I enjoy it very much. My Aaka (Grandmother) is Tagaluksiaq Denise Wartes, who is also very active in Pavva. My cousins, Nipituruaq Gwendolyn, Alaasuruaq Owen, and Saggan Blake, also dance with the group.Photo: Anayaktuaq performing the Fox and the Raven Song at Festival of Native Arts, March 2016, held at University of Alaska Fairbanks in Fairbanks, Alaska.