Yupiit Piciryarait Cultural Center facts for kids

The Yupiit Piciryarait Cultural Center (YPCC) is a special place in Bethel, Alaska. It's also known as the Yupiit Piciryarait Cultural Center and Museum. This center helps keep the Yup'ik culture alive and strong. Sometimes, it also includes the culture of the Alaskan Athabaskan people in the area.

The center is located close to the University of Alaska Fairbanks' Kuskokwim Campus. It brings together a museum, a library, and a large space for cultural events. People use it for gatherings, feasts, celebrations, meetings, and classes. It's a key spot for cultural activities in Southwest Alaska.

The name Yupiit Piciryarait means "Yup'iks' customs" in the Yup'ik language. It comes from the word piciryaraq, which means "manner; custom; habit; tradition; way of life." The building was finished in 1995. It cost $6.15 million to build, using money from the state and federal government.

The center is a team effort. It was started by the Association of Village Council Presidents (AVCP) and the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). Today, the UAF's Kuskokwim Campus, AVCP, and the City of Bethel all help run it. The building has three main parts: the Consortium Library, the Yup'ik Museum, and a large multi-purpose room. The center's main goal is to share and protect Yup'ik traditions. It does this through Alaska Native art, crafts, performances, education, and teaching the Yup'ik language. It also helps local artists and business owners.

Building Design and Yup'ik Culture

The Yupiit Piciryarait Cultural Center was built to be a valuable place for the community. Its design celebrates the Yup'ik culture. Livingston Slone Architects from Anchorage, Alaska created the building's look.

The architects included special Yup'ik themes in the design. For example, you can see the double circle or circle-and-dot design. In Yup'ik, this is called ellanguaq (singular) or ellanguat (plural). This design is often seen on Yup'ik masks and represents the cosmos and the earth. You can find these patterns in the ceiling and light fixtures of the building.

The performing arts area has a stage for Yup'ik dancing. The ceiling above it is raised, like a traditional Yup'ik qasgiq. A qasgiq was a large, semi-underground community house for men. The museum part of the center has space to show Alaska Native arts and crafts. Storage areas for artifacts and artwork are kept at the right temperature and humidity. This helps protect these important cultural items.

Who Manages the Center?

The UAF's Kuskokwim Campus owns and manages the entire cultural center. They handle how the building runs and make sure it's safe. The university also rents out the conference spaces.

The multi-purpose room is managed by UAF's Kuskokwim Campus. The Yup'ik Museum and its gift shop are run by the Association of Village Council Presidents, Inc. (AVCP). The Consortium Library is managed by both the City of Bethel and the UAF.

The UAF has received money to help the center stay open and active. The City of Bethel also helps pay for the library. The Association of Village Council Presidents manages the museum and gift shop. They pay a yearly fee to use the space.

Multi-purpose Auditorium for Events

The large multi-purpose room, or auditorium, is managed by UAF's Kuskokwim Campus. It's used for many things like training, classes, conferences, concerts, and meetings. It's the biggest space of its kind in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region. This means it's very popular and often booked!

The multi-purpose rooms and classrooms are perfect for community and cultural events. The auditorium has a stage used for dance performances and community meetings.

Other fun events happen here too, such as:

• Weekly Saturday Markets
• Cultural Nights
• Summer Arts Camp for local young people
• Art classes during the school year
• Yup'ik dance nights, where local dance groups perform
• Athabaskan fiddle dances

The center tries to schedule activities that focus on arts and culture.

Saturday Market: A Place to Connect

The center is a gathering spot for Yup'ik people. It helps them share ideas and learn more about their traditional knowledge. This helps improve their quality of life.

The center also hosts a "Saturday Market" twice a month in the summer. Artists and crafters from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta come to sell their handmade items. You can find many different crafts at the market. Some popular items include traditional Yup'ik parka covers or kuspuk (qaspeq), story knives (yaaruin), woven baskets (mingqaaq), and ulu (a special semilunar woman's knife). The center also helps new businesses in the region by holding competitions for funding.

Yup'ik Museum: Preserving History

The Yup'ik Museum is also called the Yupiit Museum or Yupiit Piciryarait Museum. It's a place where cultural treasures and art from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region are kept. It's the only museum of its kind in this part of Alaska.

This museum is owned and run by tribal organizations. It's located inside the YPCC in Bethel. The Association of Village Council Presidents is in charge of the museum and its gift shop. The museum space is about 3,800 square feet. It holds around 5,000 pieces of art, photos, and artifacts. This includes storage areas, a gift shop, and offices.

The museum has two permanent exhibits that are always on display. It also has one temporary exhibit that changes every three months. It's free to visit the museum. It's open Tuesday through Saturday, from 12 pm to 4 pm. Currently, one part-time curator works at the museum and gift shop.

Museum History: From Log Cabin to Cultural Center

The Yup'ik Museum started as the Bethel Museum in 1965. It received a $5,000 grant to celebrate 100 years since the Alaska Purchase from Russia. The first museum was in a log house. The logs were cut and brought downriver from Bethel by barge.

By 1968, the Bethel Council on the Arts managed the museum. Later, the City of Bethel took over again. The items were moved to a new log cabin. On July 4, 1970, it opened and was renamed the Yugtarvik Regional Museum. Sadly, the log cabin caught fire in 1980. Both the building and the collection were damaged. The museum was also broken into several times and sometimes closed because there weren't enough volunteers.

In 1995, when the new YPCC opened, the museum moved there. It was then renamed the Yupiit Piciryarait Museum.

What You Can See: Museum Exhibits

The museum has three galleries. Two galleries show permanent exhibits about the Yup'ik (and Cup'ik) people. They also feature the Alaskan Athabaskans of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, both from ancient times and today.

The third gallery is for temporary exhibits. These change every three months and often include other Native collections. The museum has hosted many temporary exhibits. These help teach about culture and honor the lives of people from the past. One of the museum's first exhibits was the Smithsonian Institution's "Crossroads Alaska." Another important exhibit was Ann Fienup-Riordan's Agayuliyararput (Our Way of Making Prayer): The Living Tradition of Yup'ik Masks, which opened in 1996.

Museum Gift Shop: Local Art and Crafts

The Yup'ik Museum Gift Shop sells Alaska Native art work from the region. The Association of Village Council Presidents, Inc. (AVCP) runs the gift shop along with the museum.

The Association of Village Council Presidents, Inc. (AVCP) is a recognized tribal organization. It's also a non-profit Alaska Native regional corporation. They operate the gift shop. The Association of Village Council Presidents wants to connect the center more with the surrounding villages.

Consortium Library: A Shared Resource

The Consortium Library is a special library consortium. It's managed by a partnership between the City of Bethel, UAF, and statewide library services. This library combines the UAF's Kuskokwim Campus library with the City of Bethel community library.

It has a reading room that looks out over a small pond. There's also a children's reading room. A special "Yup'ik room" holds unique collections related to Yup'ik culture.

See also

• Alaska Native Heritage Center
• Alutiiq Museum
• List of museums in Alaska
• Yup'ik clothing