Dances of the Kwakiutl

 

woman-kwakiutl-dancer

Robert Gardner, 1951

Runtime: 15 minutes
Made in collaboration with William Heick

Dances of the Kwakiutl is composed of fragments filmed in 1950 in Fort Rupert, British Columbia. They were made during a performance by those still familiar with the tradition of ‘Hamatsa’ or cannibal dancing. This type of dance was brought to impressive artistic heights by the Kwakiutl people of the Northwest coast.

distributed by Documentary Educational Resources