Alaska broadcaster known for Yup’ik stories dies
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — An Alaska Native broadcaster who helped preserve the Yup’ik language and culture one story at a time died Monday. John Active was 69.
Active worked at KYUK public radio and television stations in Bethel for about 47 years, translating the day’s news from English to Yup’ik and vice versa and hosting talk programs, said KYUK general manager Shane Iverson, who confirmed Active’s death. The cause of death wasn’t immediately known, but Iverson said Active had been in failing health.
Active typically began newscasts by telling a story in the native language. Often these were Yup’ik stories related to him in his youth by his grandmother, tales like “How the Fox Turned Red” and “How the Crane Got Its Blue Eyes,” U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan said when honouring Active on the floor of the Senate a few months ago upon Active’s retirement.
“He was an incredible storyteller and he held on to a lot of stories that might have been lost or simply not shared, so I think just sharing was one of his greatest virtues,” Iverson said.