Koahnic Broadcast Corporation (KBC) is a nonprofit media center that provides

Native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

radio programming through Alaska Native governance and operation.Koahnic Broadcast Corporation (2010). Retrieved from http://www.koahnicbroadcast.org/ KBC’s radio programming consists of '' National Native News'', ''Native America Calling,'' and ''Indigefi'', some of which can be heard nationally through their Native Voice One service. KBC also owns and operates

KNBA KNBA (90.3 FM) is a radio station in Anchorage, Alaska. The station is currently owned by Koahnic Broadcast Corporation and primarily airs an adult album alternative music format, while incorporating programming from National Public Radio, Nat ...

(90.3 FM) located in

Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

, the first Native radio station in an urban market, and Rising Indigenous Voices Radio (RIVR), an internet radio station streaming modern Native music.

Background

Cook Inlet Region, Inc. Cook Inlet Region, Inc. (CIRI) is one of thirteen Alaska Native Regional Corporations, Alaska Native regional corporations created under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA) in settlement of aboriginal land claims. Cook Inlet Regi ...

, a corporation created under the 1971

Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) was signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 18, 1971, constituting at the time the largest land claims settlement in United States history. ANCSA was intended to resolve long-standing i ...

, was instrumental in developing KBC. KBC was founded in 1996 and is located in Anchorage, Alaska, with a satellite office in Albuquerque, N.M. The word "koahnic" is of

Athabascan Athabaskan (also spelled ''Athabascan'', ''Athapaskan'' or ''Athapascan'', and also known as Dene) is a large family of indigenous languages of North America, located in western North America in three areal language groups: Northern, Pacific Co ...

origin and was chosen for the name of the corporation due to its meaning "live air." KBC is funded in part by the

Corporation for Public Broadcasting The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is an American publicly funded non-profit corporation, created in 1967 to promote and help support public broadcasting. The corporation's mission is to ensure universal access to non-commercial, ...

. On June 28, 2010, KBC aired its first international broadcast broadcasting the 11th

Inuit Circumpolar Council The Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) ( kl, Inuit Issittormiut Siunnersuisooqatigiiffiat), formerly Inuit Circumpolar Conference, is a multinational non-governmental organization (NGO) and Indigenous Peoples' Organization (IPO) representing the 1 ...

's General Assembly from Greenland to North America.

Mission statement

The primary mission of KBC is to bring Native voices to Alaska and the nation with its core purpose being to broadcast the Native voice.

Programming

* '' National Native News'' (NNN) is a radio show which airs news relating to Native issues on 137 radio stations.National Native News (2010). Retrieved from http://www.nativenews.net/ This show began in 1987 with a distribution to 30 stations and is the “only daily news and information program produced from a Native perspective”. NNN is a five-minute program that is distributed by Native Voice One (NV1). This show is produced in Albuquerque, NM. * ''Native America Calling'' (NAC) is a live radio show that allows listeners to call in and discuss issues that are relevant to Native communities. NAC is distributed via Native Voice One (NV1) to 52 stations and on the internet. * ''Indigefi'' is a radio show that features Native music. Indigefi is produced by KBC, hosted by Alexis Sallee, and distributed by Native Voice One (NV1). * ''Stories of our People'' is a radio show that is edited from 50 hours of taped interviews and narratives told by Native Americans. * ''Native Word of the Day'' is a radio program that delivers a Native American word of the day. *''UnderCurrents'' is a culturally diverse, freeform daily music mix heard on 203 stations and the internet. UnderCurrents is independently produced by Gregg McVicar (Tlingit) of RadioCamp, LLC and is distributed by Native Voice One (NV1). * ''Gae:no' '' is a weekly one-hour program devoted to traditional Native American music, with a focus on

Iroquois music The Iroquois are a confederacy of six Native American nations. Traditional social gatherings among the Iroquois feature music and dance as central components. These gatherings are led by an individual who finds lead dancers and singers and intro ...

. It is hosted by Brett Maybee. From 2010 to 2021, the program was a local program on NV1 affiliate WGWE, before the

Seneca Nation of Indians The Seneca Nation of Indians is a federally recognized Seneca tribe based in western New York. They are one of three federally recognized Seneca entities in the United States, the others being the Tonawanda Band of Seneca (also in western New Yo ...

shut that station down.

National Training Center

KBC's National Training Center, once known as the Indigenous Broadcast Center and founded in 1992, provided training opportunities for

Alaska Natives Alaska Natives (also known as Alaskan Natives, Native Alaskans, Indigenous Alaskans, Aboriginal Alaskans or First Alaskans) are the indigenous peoples of Alaska and include Iñupiat, Yupik, Aleut, Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, and a numbe ...

and Native Americans interested in a broadcasting career, on-site workshops, The Alaska Native Youth Media Institute since 1992, and an internship program.

Native Voice One

Native Voice One, better known as NV1, is Koahnic's operation distributing radio programming from producers to broadcast stations. It also distributes radio programming directly to listeners via the Internet. Circa 2000, the service that distributed Native American programming to radio stations via the

Public Radio Satellite System The Public Radio Satellite System (PRSS) is the interconnected satellite-distributed network managed by NPR (National Public Radio), and used by NPR, Public Radio Exchange (PRX), and American Public Media (APM), as well as independent public radio ...

was called AIROS. Koahnic relied on AIROS to distribute several of its programs. In 2005, ''Indian Country Today'' described AIROS as primarily a distributor and Koahnic primarily a program content provider. Then Koahnic won the contract to use the satellite network, and renamed the service Native Voice One. Koahnic took over the service on 1 July 2006. In 2014, the Smithsonian Institution listed two organizations as operating Native American networks via satellite: Native Voice One and Satélite Radio Bilingüe. The latter serves Spanish language radio listeners in the United States, some of which are Native American.

References

External links

* {{official *
Native America Calling
'
The Alaska Native Youth Media Institute
(ANYMI) at

1995 establishments in Alaska Companies based in Anchorage, Alaska Radio broadcasting companies of the United States Native American radio Public radio in the United States