Stories of Alaska’s original people hit public radio waves on Indigenous Peoples’ Day

Kohanic Broadcast Corporation is amplifying the voices of Alaska’s original people this Indigenous Peoples’ Day by bringing traditional Alaska Native stories to life with The Storyteller radio series.

The new project from The RIVR (Rising Indigenous Voices Radio) with support from the Annenberg Foundation features stories from the KNBA audio archives and tales from Alaska Native voices of today. The production frames the stories with contextual narration and new music to appeal to diverse audiences of all ages.

“Each story features historical and traditional narratives that have been passed down through generations of Alaska’s original people,” said John Sallee, producer for The RIVR and Storyteller. “We want to ensure these stories are shared for generations to come. This is a modern way of preserving our history, by making it accessible to a digital generation.”

Storyteller is narrated by Canaar (pronounced shanaa), a spirit from the Yupik land. The 10 story titles are:

1. Athabascan Story of Denali, told by the late Patricia Wade (Athabascan)
2. Athabascan Society, narrated by Alberta Stephan (Athabascan)
3. Two Old Women, told by John Active (Yup’ik)   
4. Baby with the Big Mouth, told by Bob Petersen (Yup’ik) 
5. The Hunter’s Mukluks, narrated by Polly Andrews (Yup’ik)
6. The First Fishnet, narrated by William Frost Tocktoo (Inupiaq)
7. The Stupid Boy, narrated by Aaron Leggett (Dena’ina)  
8. The Dark-Skinned Totem Pole, narrated by Mabel Pike (Tlingit)  
9. Widow Ptarmigan & The Owl, narrated by Rachel Craig (Inupiaq) 
10. Hunting Values, narrated by Alberta Stephan (Athabscan)

Each story is approximately 3-5 minutes long and will be broadcasted on KNBA, RIVR, Native Voice One and distributed to public radio stations nationwide. The series will be complemented with the creation of a new website with on-demand audio, transcripts, photos, videos and animation, available on Monday, Oct. 12.

To tune in to The RIVR, visit therivr.net on any web browser, or download The RIVR app to your smart device.

Koahnic Broadcast Corporation is a multimedia Native American production and distribution nonprofit located in Anchorage, Alaska, and Albuquerque, New Mexico.  Koahnic operates public radio station KNBA, and produces and distributes National Native News, Native America Calling, The RIVR, Indigefi, Native Voice One (NV1).

  annenberg, canaar, corp, kohanic, production, rivr, storyteller