Singing and Sketching Truth to Power

This episode of Salmonfest Radio is all about expression, female empowerment, and artistry. Revel in Carsie Blanton’s tunes from her show at Salmonfest 2021- tunes and lyrics that have no greater creative direction than her own. Carsie pulls performances together from seven different albums and gives us an interview backstage steeped in spirited activism. 

Amber Webb, Bunnell Street Art Center’s Resident Artist last May uplifts Yup’ik stories, contemporary issues and ancestral knowledge through her art. With her ink on wood drawings she shares idigenous joy and perseverance. As an artist, caregiver, and mother, Amber is among a movement of female indigenous leaders committed to supporting the well-being of their culture, a culture intimately tied to the well-being of salmon.  

These women live the life and values they are seeking for the future. They both name hard truths and feel their weight, still inspiring courage and hope as they move forward. Don’t miss this episode.

To connect with us, email: SalmonfestRadio@inletkeeper.org

Stage to Stream: Next Gen

In this Episode of Salmonfest Radio we feature a sibling, strumming duo named BroGrass. They’re young, talented, and like many from their generation- aware of our climate’s struggle to maintain a habitat that is suitable for all. Get ready for a fast picking infusion throughout the entire episode! 

Our Salmon Champions, Sue Mauger and Maddy Lee, dive deep into their passion for salmon science. This is Sue Mauger’s second time appearance on our show (see: EP 2 of season 1, Cool Tunes, Cold Water). Sue, the Science and Executive Director for Cook Inletkeeper (CIK), is in the process of wrapping up a two decade long career of temperature monitoring of salmon streams in the Cook Inlet watershed. Maddy started her salmon journey as CIK’s intern in 2017 paddling rivers with Sue. She has since navigated her own path into the world of climate and salmon science, building off of the longterm data sets Sue has collected. These two share their perspective, journeys, and science insights both technical and big picture.

To connect with us, email: SalmonfestRadio@inletkeeper.org

Sharing Salmon and Salmon Rituals

Our fourth episode of Salmonfest Radio season 2 highlights long-time Anchorage based band Super Saturated Sugar Strings and returning Salmon Champion Sam Schimmel. From opposite ends of the festival grounds, both Sam and the Sugar Strings infused Salmonfest 2021 with salmon love and joy, Sugars Strings from the stage and Sam from the workshop barn where he spent the weekend smoking and sharing fish. In Inletkeeper’s recording lounge, we chatted with Sam about the importance of recognizing humans as part of a larger ecosystem and ensuring that within our movements to protect salmon the traditional access for subsistence endures. Sam is the team lead for a project called Operation Fish Drop which distributes donated sockeye salmon to Native Alaskans in the Anchorage area who no longer have access to their traditional fishing grounds. When Super Saturated Sugar Strings joined us in the backstage lounge, our conversation wandered from salmon rituals, to the gifting economy, to our civic duty to salmon. This heartfelt Alaskan band reminds us what Salmonfest is really all about and the magic that brings us in- we let the podcast version of this show run a touch longer than an hour to capture all of this great conversation.

If you'd like to connect with us send an email to SalmonfestRadio@inletkeeper.org 

Skinny Bear Spring

Episode 3 of Salmonfest Radio dives into bears, salmon, and brass! Our Salmon Champion & professional bear viewing guide, Drew Hamilton, will discuss Alaska’s “bear coast” the western side of Cook Inlet which is home to the world's highest concentration of brown bears. A long winter has passed between fat bear fall and skinny bear spring, bears are now emerging from their dens and it's the salmon systems of Bristol Bay and Cook Inlet that got them through. Drew will share what he’s learned of these symbiotic relationships through decades of observation. 

Fisher Poet, Meezie Hermansen, will transition us with her poem about a hungry mama bear and a viral story bringing us back to Salmonfest; where we are featuring a nine piece showstopping band - The Burroughs. Their soulful funky flair is sure to get any audience moving and grooving. During our backstage interview we discussed adjusting to the pandemic, their passion for supporting the next generation of musicians, and their call for love and unity.

Resetting the Table: Indigenizing Salmon Management

Episode 2 of Salmonfest Radio keeps us rooted in our beloved Alaskan land, waters, and people. This episode features music and a backstage interview from a four piece band called Whiskey Class. Typically, Whiskey Class records as a duo and the sound is electronic; but at SalmonFest they rearranged and evolved their music to incorporate keys, bass, drums, and guitar for their performance. The duo, Liz and Patrick began creating their vibey beats and layered harmonies together while growing up in Juneau and Ketchikan where they absorbed the inspiring salmon: as Alaskans, as nutrition, as a muse, and as a growing symbol that unites us all.

Our Salmon Champions  Dr. Jessica Black and Dr. Courtney Carothers brings us a thoughtful conversation about The Indigenizing Salmon Science and Management Project, which recognizes the inequities embedded within the way we manage salmon and asks how can indigenous values, knowledge, management, and governance mechanisms be better included in management systems? Our Champions believe opening our management spaces to include both indigenous worldviews and western worldviews will support a better future for the fish so many Alaskans have come to love and depend on, and in turn- benefit all species and walks of life.

To learn more visit:

https://sites.google.com/alaska.edu/ism/

https://www.tamamta.org

https://sites.google.com/a/alaska.edu/carothers/research?authuser=0

Music: 

https://www.facebook.com/whiskeyclass

The Bang and the Boom: From Toksook Bay to Eklutna

With the steady beat of a Yup’ik drum and the explosive boom of the removal of a long-abandoned deadbeat dam, our first episode of season two, kicks off with a bang. 

Listen to learn about ongoing efforts to revive the King Salmon run of the Eklutna River - a run that sustained the Native Village of Eklutna for thousands of years until the river was dammed and fish passage blocked in 1929. Now a coalition of salmon people are working together to overcome barriers and restore water and eventually salmon to the river. 

We're kicking off our first episode with the performer that gave the inaugural performance on the new main stage of Salmonfest 2021: Byron Nicholai with his project I Sing. You Dance.  A remarkable young Yup’ik artist who melds traditional Yup’ik singing and drumming with electronic beats. 

Links to learn more: https://www.eklutnariver.org/

Byron Nicholai- I Sing. You Dance.

Connect with us by emailing: Salmonfestradio@inletkeeper.org

Spawn On Alaska, Episode 13

We’re wrapping up our final episode of season 1 of Salmonfest Radio with some classic sub-aquatic neo-folk n’ fish-punk-rock brought to you by The Ratfish Wranglers. Truly embodying the spirit of Salmonfest, this Kechikan spawned band centers Alaskan values and fishy culture in their funky and playful performances. Our 13th episode “Spawn On Alaska” features The Ratfish Wranglers not only as our musical spotlight, but also as our Salmon Champions. You’ll hear their collective commitment to advocating for, and celebrating, the salmon landscapes and culture that provide so many Alaskans a sense of home. 

Connect with us by emailing: Salmonfestradio@inletkeeper.org

Featured Music:

The Ratfish Wranglers

You Can’t Eat Gold, Episode 12

We are nearing the end of Season 1 of Salmonfest Radio! This episode “You Can’t Eat Gold” spotlights an important and familiar story of a salmon landscape facing the threat of a proposed large, open pit gold mine; this time it's the Donlin Mine in the Kuskokwim watershed.  We’ll hear from two Salmon Champions working to protect the communities that depend on the salmon of the Kuskokwim river. Together they will help us understand why considering the needs of people and an entire ecosystem is more important than gold. During our 12th episode we will also get to know The Sweet Lillies through their harmonic jam grass tunes and their 2019 Salmonfest backstage interview. 

Connect with us by emailing: Salmonfestradio@inletkeeper.org

Featured Music--

The Sweet Lillies

Steve Poltz and Joel Rafael

Wookiefoot

Horseshoes and Hand Grenades

Evolving Casts Episode 11

The sport fishing opportunities of Bristol Bay’s salmon landscape draw in anglers from all over the world. Our 11th episode “Evolving Casts” features Salmon Champion Nancy Morris Lyons, a lodge owner who was concerned early on by the lack of local people benefiting from the growing tourism sector. In collaboration with others Nancy launched the Bristol Bay Guide Academy which recognizes that local people have the best voices to share Bristol Bay with visitors and empowers local youth with the skills and encouragement needed to be leaders in the sport fishing world. Our artist feature, Suzzane Little, played with her band Food for the Soul at Salmonfest 2019 but is even more connected to the festival through her work with the organization Musicians United to Protect Bristol Bay - you’ll hear tunes from various artists as part of their collective effort to elevate Bristol Bay through music.

Connect with us by emailing: Salmonfestradio@inletkeeper.org

Featured Music--

Bonnie Nichols

Super Saturated Sugar Strings

Andrew Duhon

T Sisters

Blackwater Railroad Co.

Rainbow Girls

Death by a 1000 Cuts Episode 10

Salmonfest Radio presents our 10th episode: “Death by a 1000 Cuts.” While our Musician Feature and Salmon Champion share a dedication to fighting against ecological devastation, they live in very different realities. Dana Lyons has built his musical career in the Pacific NorthWest advocating against projects that contribute to climate change and the like, infusing environmental justice movements with his often comical and always honest lyrical tunes. Salmon Champion Charlie Wright, a subsistence fisherman from a small village along the Yukon River shares the challenges indigenous people of the region are facing. Charlie acknowledges that local folks are willing to take drastic measures to support what's left of diminishing Yukon salmon returns, but recognizes the paradox of local people having to solve a problem that they didn't cause.

Connect with us by emailing: SalmonfestRadio@inletkeeper.org

Featured Music:

Dana Lyons

Wookiefoot

The Burroughs