Video

In her nearly 40 years teaching kindergarten and first grade at Napaskiak’s Z.J. Williams Memorial School, Irene Wassillie has emphasized the importance of the Yugtun language in her classroom. Now, as she prepares to retire, her legacy lives on just down the hall, where her daughter and grandson, Julia and John Sipary, teach fourth and sixth grade. At a remote school like the Z.J. Williams Memorial School, high rates of teacher turnover can have deep impacts on the quality of a student’s education. But this "dynasty" of homegrown teachers is inspiring the next generation of Napaskiak’s youth and exemplifying commitment to community and culture.

In the Alaskan community of Kasigluk, dancers, drummers, and singers gather at the Qaluksuk Memorial Community Center to practice traditional Yup'ik dance, or yuraq. With energy that explodes from the stage, Kassiglurmiut Yurartait breathes new life into their performances, all the while passing on traditional knowledge to the next generation.

Russian Orthodox believers and clergy congregated in the Kuskokwim village of Kwethluk this month to complete one of the final steps in the process of canonizing the first Yup’ik saint – exhuming her body. Read the full story by Evan Erickson here: https://www.kyuk.org/arts-culture-community-features/2024-11-22/in-kwethluk-the-relics-of-the-first-ever-yupik-saint-are-unearthed

Kelly Lincoln first learned to sew grass as a child in the coastal village of Kipnuk. Now based in Bethel, she's passing on the traditional knowledge of Yup'ik grass sewing to a new generation of learners.

In a race marked by warm weather, Pete Kaiser finishes first in the 46th running of the Kuskokwim 300, earning his ninth career victory in the race. He joins Jeff King in holding the title of winningest musher in K300 history. Additional reporting for this video was done by Samantha Watson, Nat Herz, and Angela Denning.

With a unique mixed media approach that utilizes raw materials like spruce bark and seal whiskers, the artwork of Atsaq John Oscar represents traditional Yup'ik culture in contemporary style.