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‘Ayaprun,’ the story of Loddie Jones and Bethel’s immersion school

On “Coffee at KYUK,” KYUK's Gabby Salgado talks with Katie Basile about their new Documentary, “Ayaprun.”

Ayaprun Loddie Jones is a Yup’ik Elder, educator, and the founder of one of the first Indigenous language immersion schools in Alaska. Ayaprun’s teaching career spans 50 years and she reluctantly retired last spring. The 28-minute film follows her through her last semester of teaching. As we watch her interact with students, parents, and teachers we learn about Ayaprun’s life, the importance of language revitalization, and the struggle to get the Yup’ik immersion school started. The film also talks about its success and ongoing growth.