Billy Brown, his wife Ami and
their seven grown children live deep in the Alaskan wilderness – so far removed
from civilisation that they often go six to nine months of the year without
seeing an outsider. The children – five boys and two girls – were born and
raised in the wild. The Browns have developed their own accent and dialect,
refer to themselves as a “wolf pack” and at night, all nine sleep together in a
one-room cabin. Simply put, they are unlike any other family in America. How do
they survive in such isolation? And why do they choose to live this way? Step
into their lives and hear their intriguing story on ALASKAN BUSH PEOPLE, premiering every Tuesday at 8:00 p.m., from February
10 on Discovery Channel.
According to the Browns, recently,
the cabin where they lived for years was seized and burned to the ground for
being in the wrong location on public land. They were devastated, but instead
of giving up and moving back to society, they decided to go deeper into the
wilderness to continue their way of life. Their new land is located in the
Copper River Valley, where temperatures can drop to -50 oC. As
winter gets closer, it's a race against the clock – the Browns must work
together to build a new cabin that will protect them from the harsh Alaskan
environment, but the falling temperatures and dwindling daylight make it harder
and harder. They'll use what the land provides to construct their small home
and will also have to contend with other rogue bush people. It'll be tough, but
having lived this way for decades, the family wouldn't have it any other way.
“Our family is
doing what is natural for human beings to do. We survive on what we hunt, fish,
trap and barter for,” Billy says. “If you think about it, it’s the life we were
meant to live.” The rest of the family shares his outlook. Here’s what they
have to say about their lifestyle:
●
Ami – “We figured
out we didn’t need modern society… we could live off the ocean and the forest.”
●
Matt (aged 31) – “People are
always saying we have some kind of accent.
I don’t know where it comes from. I guess it’s from all the different
people that live here in Alaska.”
●
Bam Bam (aged 29) – “You go
through the forest and then into the wilderness, and you just keep on going;
when you think you can’t go any farther and you’ve come to the very end of the
wilderness, that’s where the bush starts, and that’s where nobody else ever
goes.”
●
Bear (aged 26) – “Our family is a
lot like a wolf pack or a clan ‘cause we stick together. We’re like the three musketeers,
actually. It’s all for one and one for
all.”
●
Gabe (aged 24) – “It’s not like
we’re backwards or cavemen even though our lifestyle can be quite primitive.”
●
Noah aged (21) – “We’re all
homeschooled, and even though we’re in the middle of nowhere, we do get bits
and pieces of the culture from the lower 48.”
●
Snowbird (aged 19) – “Girl time is
different in the bush. We don’t just do
our nails and play with dolls. We like
to hunt, and we like to fish…”
●
Rainy (aged 11) – “My name is
Merry Christmas Catherine Raindrop Brown, and people call me Rainy.”
This “simple life” of the Brown
family is far from simple. But it is what they know and love. Tune in and see how they live and thrive on ALASKAN
BUSH PEOPLE.
Encores
every Wednesday at 1:00 p.m., Friday at 11:00 p.m., Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and
Sunday at 6:00 p.m.
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