Koahnic Broadcast Corporation (KBC) is a nonprofit media organization that produces and distributes Native and Indigenous content through Alaska Native governance and operation.
KBC’s programming consists of National Native News (NNN), Native America Calling (NAC), and INDIGEFI, which can be heard nationally through our Native Voice One (NV1) service. KBC also owns and operates KNBA (90.3 FM) located in Anchorage, Alaska, 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., a corporation created under the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, was instrumental in developing KBC. KBC was founded in 1996 and is located in Anchorage, Alaska, with a satellite office in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The word "koahnic" is of Athabascan 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.
On June 28, 2010, KBC aired its first international broadcast from the 11th Inuit Circumpolar Council'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
NNN is a daily five-minute audio newscast featuring news about Native and Indigenous issues which is distributed by Native Voice One (NV1) to more than 100 radio stations and published as a podcast and website. 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”.
NAC is a live radio show that allows listeners to call in and discuss issues that are relevant to Native communities. It is produced in our Albuquerque studios and distributed by NV1 to dozens of stations and via podcast and its website.
INDIGEFI is a multimedia experience featuring Native music and hosted by Alex Sallee, produced by KBC, and distributed by NV1. The popular Native Artist Podcast is a recurring series produced by INDIGEFI.
NV1 is Koahnic's distribution arm, serving internal and external programming to radio stations across the continent as well as digital channels like YouTube and TikTok. Starting in 2006, NV1 has enabled Native programs to reach the majority of the Alaska Native population and the American Indian reservation audience through carriage by most of the country’s 55 Native-owned stations as well as urban markets serving Native communities.