Bill Hill's Story
From drift boats in Bristol Bay to the classrooms of Juneau, Bill knows Alaska
Bill Hill is Dena’ina Athabascan and a lifelong Alaskan.
Bill grew up in a small village in Bristol Bay, Alaska – the home of the largest salmon run in the world. His childhood was spent subsistence fishing and hunting, trapping, and raising and racing sled dog teams with his family. Hard work was built into everyday life – whether packing water, chopping wood, or helping fill the freezer for winter.
Bill has been a commercial fisherman for as long as he could work
He started setnetting as a young kid, before joining his dad on the family drift boat when he was 12. He’s fished every fishing season in Bristol Bay since.
Bill’s also worked union construction jobs in rural Alaska, from building houses, working on remote health clinics and canneries, and on a crew that installed the sewer system in the Bristol Bay Borough.
A son of two teachers, Bill spent nearly 25 years working as a teacher, a principal, and a superintendent. In 2023 he was named Alaska Superintendent of the Year.
To keep more resources from the fishing industry in his town, Bill and his wife started Bristol Bay Brailer, a textile manufacturing business that supplies custom-made brailers for the commercial fishing fleet.
