Arts & Culture

As immigrants across the country wonder what a future in the United States will look like under an administration seeking to bar their entry, we’re taking a look at some of our neighbors in Western Alaska who have immigrated here. In Bethel, there is a small community of a hundred or so who have come to Alaska from various Eastern European countries and are colloquially and collectively known as "Albanians." They came to Bethel for many reasons: economic opportunity, family, and to escape war and persecution. We start our series about local immigrants by talking with one of them. This episode is entitled: “A cab ride with Lincoln.”

The village of Quinhagak is preparing to receive a series of artifacts from an archeological dig conducted there over the last several years.  The artifacts, tools, and weapons have been preserved by a team from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland and will be repatriated to the village later this year.

While many Alaskans have returned to work after the holidays, the state's Orthodox villages have just concluded their celebration of Slaviq, the Russian Orthodox celebration of Christmas. We went to Napaskiak, a few miles downriver from Bethel, for the last ceremony.

The air in the church is warm and thick with frankincense, despite near negative temperatures outside. A small choir is hidden in a loft above those coming in from the cold, creating the impression that the soft reverberant sounds are not coming from anywhere specific, or rather originate from heaven itself.

As the K300 gets closer, the organizers are looking for help from the community. Organizer Madelene Reichard joined us in the studio to explain how. 

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Steve Heimel, one of KYUK's News Managing Editors, was recently honored when a renowned Cup'ik mask and doll maker thought Heimel’s likeness would make a pretty good doll. Earl Atchak of Chevak has heard Heimel's voice on Alaska radio for decades and modeled the doll after Facebook pictures of the longtime radio host. KYUK talked with Atchak about the doll-making process and the inspiration behind his work.