About Kwethluk

Our Land

Kwethluk is a Yup’ik community located 12 air miles east of Bethel on the Kwethluk River at the junc­tion with the Kuskokuok Slough of the Kuskokwim River. The Kuskok­wim River or Kusko River is 702 miles long, stretching through Southwest Alaska. It is the ninth largest river in the United States by average discharge volume. Kuskok­wim in Yupik is a loose translation of a Yup’ik word to English, mean­ing big slow moving thing. We are the second largest community along the Lower Kuskokwim River, encompassing 10.0 square miles of land and 1.7 square miles of water.

We are located within the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge on the Kuskokwim River, and can be found at Latitude 60.8122 and Lon­gitude 161.4358.

Our History

Archeological evidence reveals that Yupik’s have occupied where Kwethluk now stands for millen­nia. During the late 1800’s, four families from four different villag­es, banded together to form what was to become Kwethluk. In 1896, a Moravian Church was built and a Russian Orthodox Church was built in 1912.

The residents were well known for their hunting and trapping skills. We have a rich culture and connec­tion to the land and water. Many of us are involved in commercial fish­ing, and subsistence activities such as fishing, drying fish, hunting and harvesting various plants used for soups, desserts and medicine. To this day, we continue with our sub­sistence way of life.

In 1909, gold was discovered and in 1911 prospectors left because of disappointing finds. In 2012, the Donlin Gold LLC was established by a joint venture with Nova Gold Resources and Barrick Gold to in­clude a pact with Calista and the Kuskokwim Native corporation. The mine is situated about 120 miles north of Kwethluk on the Kuskokwim River.

In 1947 the first post office opened and in 1948 a Native owned store was established. In 1975, the com­munity was established as a sec­ond-class city.

Our People

Kwethluk first appeared on the 1880 U.S. Census as the unincorpo­rated village of Kuljkhlugamute.[7] It did not appear again until 1940 as the village of “Quithlook.” The spelling was changed in 1950 to Kwethluk and the village formally incorporated as a city in 1975.

The 2020 US Census count re­vealed that there are 812 residents. However, the City of Kwethluk be­lieves that the Census count was not accurate and conducted their own count which revealed that there are 890 residents of Kweth­luk, of which 93% are of Yup’ik decent. Our locally Federally Rec­ognized Tribe, the Organized Village of Kwethluk, has 755 Tribal mem­bers. We have a rich culture and con­nection to the land and water, with most residents involved in commer­cial fishing, and subsistence activities such as fishing, drying fish, hunting and berry picking.

Our Culture

The name Kwethluk is derived from the Yup’ik word “Kuiggluk,” meaning “dangerous river,” and finds indicate that the area has been inhabited for millennia. Kwethluk is predominantly a Yup’ik village that practices a sub­sistence lifestyle. Our culture was developed over the long period of our history in the one of the most difficult human environments in the world. We have not just sur­vived, but through our shared values and knowledge, we have thrived. Our culture is character­ized by respect for our elders, co­operation and sharing, love for our children, humility, hard work, skills development, conflict avoidance, humor, respect for the natural en­vironment, and acceptance of our family roles. Our values are shared and reinforced through the teach­ings of our elders, stories, music, dance, arts, passing along import­ant skills, and working side-by-side for the good of our community.