Music festival celebrates summer solstice

Nine bands, the Eagle Raven Dance Group, Native Youth Olympics, and a DJ drew about 100 people to the first Alaska Native Sisterhood Camp 70 Summer Solstice Music Festival at Áak’w Landing Saturday.

The waterfront land owned by Huna Totem Corporation is slated to become a cruise ship dock and cultural center by 2027, making it unlikely the music festival would become an annual occurrence. Maridon Boario, one of the organizers, said the event was a community effort by various Juneau artists.

“We were like, hey, ‘maybe we can do something different that’s for fun.’ And because I’m a musician, I was like, ‘oh, maybe we can do a music festival and I’ll ask some friends’,” Boario said.

Ticket sales and proceeds from a 50-50 raffle and silent auction were donated to the ANS general fund, which supports scholarships, school lunch programs, and Christmas baskets for elders. The Alaska Native Sisterhood also donates to local nonprofits such as AWARE.

Today’s cultural and political climate is revitalizing interest in the sisterhood, according to Alicia Maryott, president of ANS Camp 70. The camp once raised funds through catering, but business dropped off as other catering companies entered the market.

“We’re really excited to just kind of rejuvenate our camp, because the pandemic really slowed us down,” Maryott said. “We had to shift, and so yeah, we’re doing more things where we can connect in person as a community, and so that people know that we’re still here, because we’re the oldest civil rights organization in the country.”

Native Youth Olympics athletes showcased their skills during the solstice festival, featuring Inuit stick pulls and Alaskan high kicks. According to the athletes, the event gave them a chance to showcase skills they work on all year.

“It’s a fun time just going and doing the stuff,” said NYO athlete Lincoln Razor.

Many of the vendors, including Victoria Johnson, were enjoying the nice weather and music. Johnson has been creating Alaska Native art kits and beaded jewelry for over 40 years and heard about this opportunity from her cousin, who is involved with the sisterhood.

“How can you go wrong with live entertainment?” Johnson said. “I hope we get to do this again on another beautiful solstice day.”

The nonstop music varied widely in genre. Nine Miles From Town, a folksy string ensemble, was sixth on the set list and played tunes with various geographic origins that shared similar sounds. The band heard about the festival through guitarist Sergei Morosan, who also plays in Boario’s country band, Maridon and the Prime Cuts.

“Any opportunity to get people out in the sun, just listen to music, and enjoy life is kind of what we’re about. And we like, feel like there’s not enough opportunities for that, so when they come along, we take them,” said guitarist Miguel Rohrbacher.

Air Jazz writes and performs rap songs with an Indigenous flair. Eighth on the set list, solo vocalist Arias Hoyle showcased some of his singles, including “AK Ginseng” and “The Color Jazz.”

“I call myself Taku, I’m trying to give our sound a regional aesthetic, you know, more Indigenous ties to it,” Hoyle said. He has been playing music for eight years, and said he draws inspiration from his Southeast Alaskan roots and great-grandmother.

Alaska Native Sisterhood membership is open to any interested party, regardless of race or gender.

“You don’t have to be Native, you don’t even have to be female. The Alaska Native Sisterhood, we take everybody,” said member Pat Walker.

• Ellie Ruel can be contacted via editor@juneauempire.com.