ANN ARBOR—A team of University of Michigan School of Information graduate students has collaborated with members of the Yup’ik Eskimo community and museums around the world to develop an interactive program based on the “Agayuliyararput (Our Way of Making Prayer)” Yup’ik mask museum exhibit.

“The students created a multimedia compact disc that contains both a convenient desktop version of the museum’s original traveling exhibit and a series of stories, videos, and lessons that together offer insight into the lifeways and cultural heritage of the Yup’ik people who live along the west coast of Alaska,” says Maurita Holland, associate professor and assistant to the dean for academic outreach at the School of Information.

To celebrate the release of the “The Living Tradition of Yup’ik Masks” CD, the School of Information is hosting a special free lecture and performance by the Nunamta Yup’ik Eskimo Dancers of Alaska. The group will perform “Central Yup’ik Eskimo Past and Present: Traditional Art, Music, and Dance.” The public is invited to the 3 p.m. March 28 event in Hale Auditorium, Hill and Tappan streets, on the U-M campus.

Chuna McIntyre, a multimedia artist, scholar, linguist, and educator who was instrumental in shaping the CD, will lead Nunamta in performing traditional music and songs, some of which are included on the CD. The dance group will also take part in the Ann Arbor Pow Wow, “Dance for Mother Earth,” on March 27.

The CD grew out of a collaboration initiated by the National Museum of the American Indian of the Smithsonian Institution with the School of Information to create an online version of “Agayuliyararput (Our Way of Making Prayer),” a museum exhibit curated by Ann Fienup-Riordan of the Anchorage Museum of History and Art and members of the Yup’ik community.

“The museum exhibit has displayed more than 200 masks from international collections at sites throughout the United States since 1996. The final showing of the collection is slated for summer 1999. After that, the CD will be an ongoing source containing the images of this exhibit, plus additional educational resources created by the students,” explains C. Olivia Frost, professor and associate dean for professional programs.

“Through audio, video, images, and interactive technology, viewers can experience the richness and vibrancy of the largest collection of traditional Yup’ik masks anywhere in the world, hear the voices of Yup’ik elders responding to the masks, and interact with modern Yup’ik artist Chuna McIntyre,” says Tim Peters, master’s student and principal developer on the CD team.

The CD also contains stories about the making of the masks and the restoration efforts that went into saving them. Accompanying educational materials and links to online lesson plans for educators make the CD a valuable classroom resource for anyone age 8 and up.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation provided substantial project funding. The CD team members are part of the School’s Cultural Heritage Initiative for Community Outreach (CHICO) project and created the CD and a companion Web site (www.si.umich.edu/CHICO/). CHICO is a multidisciplinary, nonprofit project that works with diverse communities and cultural organizations.

To purchase the CD-ROM, which sells for $14.95 plus shipping and handling, call the School at (734) 763-2285 or visit the CHICO Web site.

CDNational Museum of the American IndianC. Olivia FrostW.K. Kellogg Foundation