Pamyua, a highlight at the Native American Arts Festival

The 2022 Idyllwild Arts (IA) Native American Arts Festival came to a close with a concert in Holmes Amphitheatre featuring Alaska’s most popular Inuit band, Pamyua. Opening the evening of Friday, June 24, were the Mountain Cahuilla Bird Singers.

As the sunset filtered through the forest, the assembled locals and festival attendees were welcomed by the Bird Singers’ stirring program of traditional songs, links in a chain that stretches back many generations. The rhythm of shaken gourds and the deep voices told the stories of migration of not just of birds, but of a people. The group explained enough of the meaning of the songs to make us want to know more, and the presentation was warm and inviting.

The evening included a special performance by Alaska’s Pamyua (pronounced Bam-yo-ah, and meaning “encore” or “do it again”). Its unique sound, described as “Inuit Soul,” melds Indigenous and Afro American sounds. Brothers Phillip and Stephen Blanchette founded the group with Inuit musician Ossie Kairaivak, and have since formed a powerful trans-arctic musical family. They were joined by guitarist Ivan Night, Sara Anderholm on keyboard and Derek Haukaas on drums.

Some of Pamyua’s numbers are traditional, preserving and carrying forward Inuit culture to the next generation and wider world. Some songs expand and harmonize the old songs, recalling the Blanchettes’ father and their experience with Baptist church acapella style. Others are sSoul and hip-hHip Hop grooves integrated into the rhythms and sounds of their own music and language. The brothers (and Kairaivak) are at home in front of an audience, obviously loving the “cozy” vibe of our town, complete with kids romping in the meadow.

The Crier was fortunate to meet and speak with Phillip this week. He explained the evolution of his group, and the path of a career taking its sound to National Geographic’s “Life Below Zero” and the Library of Congress.

Phillip describes his hometown, Bethel, Alaska, (pop. 6548) as “Kind of like Idyllwild in a way. A strong sense of community and a wonderful sense of Iindigenous culture, an incredible environment in which to become aware. It’s remote, we don’t have a live music industry. But what we saw on TV and heard on radio had a big influence.

“There was a thriving public radio and public TV; we grew up in the boom time of the 1980s. Our TV station produced a gameshow called ‘Ask an Alaskan’ that was broadcast statewide. We grew up seeing media produced in different ways; we saw the underground rap culture coming up. [Bethel] represented the vibe of urban culture. We thought ‘Let’s create!’ We have something to say, we have a culture. We saw the progression of urban hip-hop break-dancing style, the identity of what it meant to be part of that community, the importance of creativity and the process of creation for young people in the community. What happened in the Bronx, we could relate to back home …

“I would go to the record store, Borders, and look at CDs and be inspired by how the industry was able to do this and ask, ‘How are we going to present ourselves?’ We wanted to be part of the industry and represent Iindigenous style. It meant something, it had a piece of the identity, an exciting piece.

“It’s not something everyone is doing, it’s appreciated. We are representing the progression of something that came from an ancient form of ceremony, identity and storytelling.”

The Blanchettes have a special relationship to Chuna McIntyre, of the Nunamta Yupik Singers and Dancers, and whose image, since he appeared at the 2019 festival, was used in this year’s publicity. “Our mother for many years toured with him all over the world. She would send us postcards from New York, Tokyo, Washington, DC. He’s the older school version of what we do. I grew up watching them perform and was inspired.”

Phillip would learn the songs and sing them to his brother, who would harmonize with him. Their father heard this and nourished it, arranging their first performances with their mother and a traditional drummer. When they met another youngster who also knew the language and drumming, Kairavak, they became a trio, and began to perform without the elders.

They soon received statewide press and media attention. They met Karina Moeller at the Arctic Winter Games where she was performing representing Greenland. She and Phillip began dating, married, and now have two childrenkids age 24 and 19. Touring in Denmark they met keyboardist Kristoff Reenberg, who Phillip describes as a “retro-Scandanavian jazz virtuoso.” “He loves the grit and storytelling,” Phillip said. “He has taught me a lot about music on a real time level and how to work with pick-up musicians. I would see him communicate in this masterful way; so incredibly talented and so humble as a player, it brought the best out of those musicians who also speak that language, that’s when the magic happens.”

The group founded its own company, now called “Arctic Voice” but originally “ellavut,” an Inuit word that joins the meanings “our universe,” “awareness” and “weather.” “In our culture we see a connection,” he said.

This is the first visit of Pamyua to Idyllwild, but the brothers have done a virtual meeting with IA students during the pandemic. “The program focused on performing arts and afro-indigenous culture. We were guest speakers over Zoom. The program was student lead and mediated.” He looks forward to returning “when all the students are here.”

Pamyua is part of the trans-national Arctic cultural and political scene, performing mostly in Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Scandanavia and even Russia.

“[Pamyua is] our own way of representing Inuit art and tradition, we are doing it in real time. It’s not a museum piece, we are doing it right now. That’s a message that a lot of Iindigenous groups recognize and appreciate. We’re not holding ourselves to the tradition. We are confident enough in who we are, it’s strong enough and beautiful enough to express our identity in new ways. It’s honest to who we are and still honors our traditions.”

Phillip explains his ideals for performance: “Show your best, entertain, honor tradition. It’s actually a prayer, it’s staying humble, honoring the song and also the ancestors. There’s a certain playfulness and seriousness in our dance tradition, the same thing Kristoff would show me with his music.”

About the future, Phillip said had just been at Higher Grounds Coffee shop working on the soundtrack for the National Geographic series “Life Below Zero,” a show called “First Alaskans.” “It’s the first one with all Iindigenous cast. They asked us to be part of the production team. We’re finishing up the first season. Breaking into production is a whole other level. We used to joke in the studio, put on sunglasses and say, ‘Now we are producers.’ It’s another amazing progression in our career. I like to work with the team and take our time and be on our own deadline, but now … I have to give them 10 cues by next month.”

The group has also just submitted a video to the Library of Congress’ “Home Grown Concert Series.” The show featured a show in Alaska and “ends with the group being joined by a big community group, showcasing how our dances are done in the community. We went out of our way to make it represent us but also to do it right. All who worked on it are proud of it.”

Later this year the group has planned an unusual tour with Arts Midwest, allowing them to engage locals more deeply while avoiding some of the rigors of the road. It will consist of three three-week mini tours. Each week they will visit a different small town, do intimate performances for various community groups, then finish with a concert performance for the whole town. The first set of three will happen in fall, then another set in February and then one more.