Inside KYUK

KYUK wins regional Edward R. Murrow award for artist series

KYUK | By Sage Smiley

Published June 3, 2025 at 2:39 PM AKDT

"The Sitting Hunter" is composed of three separate whale bones. It was conceptualized, carved, and painted by Hooper Bay artist Steve Stone.

In May, KYUK Public Media won a regional Edward R. Murrow award for work produced in 2024.

The award is for best News Series in the small-market radio category. It was awarded for the Modern Tradition series highlighting artists from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.

Find links to the stories below:

In 2022, the remnants of Typhoon Merbok laid waste to most of Chevak’s fishing fleet and destroyed the contents of Bukowksi’s three chest freezers. He says that food security is at the heart of much of the work he creates.

Arts, Culture & Community Features

‘Behind every catch you have a storyline': Food security is front and center in Cup’ik artist’s work

Emily Schwing

Ryan Bukowski’s uniquely carved and scrimshawed walrus tusks highlight his values, which center on hunting, fishing, and traditional ways.

Creating traditional squirrel skin parkas connects Merna Wharton to her Yup’ik roots. “It feels like it's part of my identity. As a Yup’ik woman, you have to keep your family warm,” she said.

Arts, Culture & Community Features

Making a squirrel skin parka is a labor of love. One Akiachak artist revels in the process.

Emily Schwing

Merna Lomack Wharton takes a conservative approach with her signature touches as she pieces together regalia based on her great-grandmother’s design.

Steve Stone applied for a grant so that he could build himself an artist’s studio and workshop outside his house on Hooper Bay’s Blueberry Hill.

Arts, Culture & Community Features

While workshop space is limited, one Hooper Bay artist's sculptures tell expansive stories

Emily Schwing

Steve Stone finds unique ways to piece together whale bone, driftwood, and other natural materials to create the masks, carvings, and sculptures he’s known for.

‘Village Life’ is the first song Martin Paul ever wrote. It’s about the ups and downs of life where he grew up - between Kalskag and Kipnuk on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.

Arts, Culture & Community Features

Yup’ik singer-songwriter builds connections throughout rural Alaska using social media

Emily Schwing

Martin Paul says his music and videos are supposed to offer a sense of healing, joy, and gratitude.

Monica Shah and Golga Oscar examine a squirrel skin hood. With help from an Access to Alaska Natives Collection grant from the non-profit Museums Alaska, Oscar made a special trip in 2023 to explore designs and regalia housed in the Anchorage Museum’s collection.

Arts, Culture & Community Features

Yup’ik designer reaches back through history to carry forward stories and traditions

Emily Schwing

A modern fashion designer and skin sewer, Golga Oscar draws inspiration from stories passed down to him from generations of Elders and ancestors.

Riley Lekanoff (left) of Unalaska and Wassilie Meyers (right) of Pilot Stations get an airraq lesson from longtime string storyteller Matthew Nicolai.

Arts, Culture & Community Features

Yup’ik storyteller spins a good yarn with airraq

Emily Schwing

Matthew Nicolai uses a simple loop of string to create connections and tell traditional stories.

KYUK won this award competing against news outlets in the northwest United States, including stations from the rest of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Winning the News Series category regionally automatically enters the series into the national Edward R. Murrow Awards competition, to be decided in the summer.

Earlier this year, KYUK’s multimedia department and newsroom also won 10 Alaska Press Club awards for audio and video work produced in 2024.