Participating Organizations

KYUK is owned and operated by Bethel Broadcasting, Inc., a Native American run organization that is working to educate, stimulate, and inform; as well as provide cultural enrichment, entertainment, and opportunity for public access; and language maintenance for cultural survival. KYUK first began broadcasting radio to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in 1971, making it the first and oldest Native-owned station in the United States. KYUK television began broadcasting in 1972.

Many Elder residents in the region are monolingual Yup’ik Speakers, or speak English as a second language. As a result, KYUK is a bilingual station, broadcasting in both English and Yugtun. To make services as valuable as possible, KYUK broadcasts approximately one hour a day of local news in the Yup’ik language, along with an hour and a half of Yup’ik public affairs and talk shows five days a week.

KYUK radio serves a population of approximately 22,000 predominantly Yup’ik/Cup’ik residents in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region of Southwest Alaska.

KYUK has been documenting life in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta for nearly 50 years. Going back to 1971, KYUK has been capturing everything from Yup'ik dance to interviews with local Elders. Now KYUK is digitizing our history. With help from our funders, we are in the process of digitizing over 2,000 videos and making them available to the public.