Yupiit Piciryarait Cultural Center, Bethel, Alaska

University of Alaska Fairbanks, Kuskokwim Campus

Mosaic depicting Yup’ik drumming and dance in main hallway.

YUPIIT PICIRYARAIT CULTURAL CENTER

The University of Alaska, Fairbanks was federally funded starting in 1922 as a land grant university.  Kuskokwim Campus opened their doors in 1972 and the Yupiit Piciryarait Cultural Center grand opening was March 25, 1995.    The Yupiit Piciryarait Cultural Center (YPCC) is a community facility, owned by University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), College of Rural and Community Development (CRCD), and managed by Kuskokwim Campus (KuC).  Its mission is to “promote, preserve and develop the traditions of the Native people of the region through traditional and non-traditional art forms, including arts & crafts, performance arts, education, and language.” YPCC houses a Yup’ik Museum, a consortium library (KuC and the City of Bethel), a multipurpose room and a classroom.   The UAF Kuskokwim Campus mission “prepares professional, community and cultural leaders in an active and relevant learning environment.”

Yupiit Piciryarait Cultural Center

PO Box 368

420 Chief Eddie Hoffman Highway

Bethel, Alaska 99559

Contact us at: 1-800-578-4822

1-907-543-4537 Coordinator

1-907-543-4547 Assistant Coordinator

1-907-543-4516 Library

1-907-543-1819 Museum Gift Shop

1-907-543-4543 Fax

Www.bethel.uaf.edu

Yupiit Piciryarait Cultural Center

Bethel, Alaska

Students display “Quspaks” made in a ‘Keeping Traditions Alive’ class taught at the cultural center.

Traditional Yukon-Kuskokwim grass baskets, in gift shop.