Alaskan Bush People Before The Fame

May 2024 ยท 2 minute read

We begin with Billy Bryan Brown, the patriarch of the Brown family and ultimate mastermind behind the Alaskan Bush People. Although he may be roughing it in the wilderness now, Billy was actually born into an upper-middle class family in Texas. Tragedy struck in 1969 when his parents and only sibling were killed in a plane crash. A 16-year-old Billy was left orphaned and destitute.

According to Billy's Discovery Channel bio, he met his second wife, Ami, not long after the loss of his family. Together, they moved to Alaska to raise their children. Billy worked as a commercial fisherman in the North Pacific and considers himself something of an expert outdoorsman. His experiences were reportedly the inspiration for his book One Wave at a Time.

Billy eventually led his family out of Alaska, down to the "lower 48" in pursuit of fame. After about four years of persistence, the Browns got their big break. According to Capital City Weekly, the brood returned to Alaska to film a documentary that would eventually become Alaskan Bush People. Unfortunately for Billy, the foray out of Alaska caused some serious problems for him and his family a few years later. CNN reported that Billy and several members of the Brown family illegally claimed access to Alaska's Permanent Dividend Fund during their time outside the state, receiving thousands of dollars in oil revenue they weren't legally entitled to receive. The alleged fraud played out heavily in Season 5 of the show.

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