Join us for an evening of traditional indigenous music, archeoastronomy, & poetry of the first Native American poet laureate under the stars!

The evening will begin at 8:00pm with an exhibit featuring Native American archaeoastronomy presented by The Long Island Chapter of the New York State Archaeological Association at the Southold Indian Museum (directly across the street from Custer Observatory).

Following your visit to the museum, join us on the lawn at Custer Observatory for an outdoor concert and poetry beginning at 9:00pm. In this outdoor program, Sicanni Purizaca will perform Andean traditional flute music that highlights the culture of people indigenous to the Americas and music that originated in the Andes Mountains of Peru. Its traditional sounds are based on ancient musical instruments such as native bamboo and wooden flutes, and drums from leather of native animals. Many of the rhythms that Sicanni integrates into his music were discovered from different areas of the Americas. With the traditional music elements and some contemporary instruments, Sicanni and his ensemble make the traditional music enjoyable and rich while keeping the roots of the native sounds!

Listen to readings of excerpts from the chosen poetry collection “An American Sunrise” by performance company Teatro Yerbabruja, and learn about the importance of astronomy to indigenous cultures. “An American Sunrise” is a nationally best-selling poetry collection from the first Native American poet laureate of the United States, Joy Harjo. Joy's collection "reveals glimpses of life in Oklahoma's Muscogee Creek Nation alongside delicately rendered ruminations on memory, family and healing" (Drew Tewksbury, Los Angeles Times)

Sicanni Purizaca was born in Peru and has been playing traditional native american flutes for almost 30 years. He has recorded seven albums, four of which include his own musical compositions. Sicanni has travelled many countries and across the nation sharing his music. He has also taught native american flute playing at schools, in seminars and workshops. Currently he resides in Long Island, NY and is producing and recording a new album to be released in 2023.

This program is conducted in partnership with Teatro Yerbabruja, the Southold Indian Museum and the Shinnecock Indian Nation and is the final event in a National Endowment for the Arts BIG Read series presented by Yerbabruja. Showcasing a diverse range of themes, voices, and perspectives, the NEA Big Read aims to inspire meaningful conversations, artistic responses, and new discoveries and connections in each community.

Following the presentation, Observatory staff will provide guided tours of the night sky (weather permitting) through the many telescopes on site, including the feature telescope in the Institute's historic observation dome.

$20 Adult, $15 Observatory & Museum Members, Children Under 16 FREE. A rain date for this program is scheduled for June 18 at 8:00pm.

Please bring a blanket or chair to enjoy this outdoor presentation.

To learn more about Teatro Yerbabruja visit http://www.teatroyerbabruja.org/
To learn more about the Southold Indian Museum visit http://www.southoldindianmuseum.com/
But whether the Moon is just a sliver or full, it's always great to see through our telescopes!