Displaced Alaska Native children find familiarity in an uncommon program, in photos
Byline: Lindsey Wasson
Evacuee children displaced by ex-Typhoon Halong wait in the lobby of their temporary hotel housing for a bus to take them to College Gate Elementary, where students spend half their time learning in Yup'ik language immersion, Friday, Oct. 31, 2025, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An immersion program that helps preserve an Alaska Native language has been a boon to children displaced by last month’s severe flooding in western Alaska.
After Typhoon Halong devastated two Yup’ik villages along the Bering Sea last month, many residents were airlifted to Anchorage. Principal Darrell Berntsen welcomed them to his school, which offers a Yup’ik immersion program.
This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
From left, Lilly Loewen, 10, a student from Anchorage, jokes around with new classmates Rayann Martin, center and Ellyne Aliralria, right, both 10-year-olds displaced from Kipnuk, at College Gate Elementary, where students spend half their time learning in Yup’ik language immersion, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)Students are seen reflected in a mirror on a wall full of traditional crafts as they spend half their day working in a Yup’ik language immersion program at College Gate Elementary, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)Renee Avugiak, originally from Chefornak, Alaska, near the villages of Kipnuk and Kwigillingok that were heavily damaged by ex-Typhoon Halong, leads her class through the hallways at College Gate Elementary, where students spend half their time learning in Yup’ik language immersion, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)Rayann Martin, a 10-year-old displaced from the village of Kipnuk by ex-Typhoon Halong, front right in black, talks with new classmate Lilly Loewen, 10, in orange, as they work in the Yup’ik language at College Gate Elementary, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)Ellyne Aliralria, a 10-year-old student displaced from her village of Kipnuk by ex-Typhoon Halong, fills out a worksheet in Yup’ik at College Gate Elementary, where students spend half their time learning in a Yup’ik language immersion program, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)The Pledge of Allegiance is seen in Yup’ik at College Gate Elementary, where students spend half their time in Yup’ik language immersion, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)Teacher Stephanie Wooten walks by Ellyne Aliralria, center and Rayann Martin, right, both 10-year-olds displaced from their village of Kipnuk by ex-Typhoon Halong in early October, at College Gate Elementary, where students spend half their time learning in Yup’ik language immersion, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)Rayann Martin, a 10-year-old from the village of Kipnuk who was displaced by ex-Typhoon Halong, holds a leaf while waiting in her hotel lobby for a bus to take her to her new school at College Gate Elementary, where students spend half their time learning in Yup’ik language immersion, Friday, Oct. 31, 2025, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)Signs in the Yup’ik language are seen on the walls as students line up to leave a classroom at College Gate Elementary, where students spend half their time learning in Yup’ik language immersion, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
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