Alaskan Bush People star Bear Brown has appeared in plenty of headlines recently, so it isn’t a surprise that his views on the media would skew to the negative. But according to a recent post on his Instagram, it isn’t only about coverage of him and his family. It’s also about how locals in Alaska feel about it all.
According to ScreenRant, part of this outburst can be attributed to a recent report in Alaska Public Media on the Brown family’s return to the area looking for land. After being forced to move away for three years, the Browns attempted to purchase land near Petersburg.
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According to Alaska Public Media, the folks in Petersburg did not appreciate the Browns’ return or how they portray their lives on the Discovery series. Local Mark Hofstad is quoted in the piece, urging the harbor master in the town to move the ABP staff and family away from South Harbor and having a testy encounter with Gabe Brown.
“That one kid, I think they call him Gabe, introduced himself and stuck out his hand. I looked at him,”I aint’ shaking your hand.’ He just looked at me and walked away.” Hofstad tells the outlet. “I mean, look what the show is. It’s non-residents portraying themselves as Alaskans that basically make us all look like a bunch of frickin’ morons.”
Hofstad is not alone in these feelings toward the Brown family, with many trying to keep their distance from the Discovery TV family. But for Bear Brown, he took to Instagram to defend his family and call out the locals.
“Been reading some of these so-called news articles and most of them are so far off it’s hilarious. Especially the Alaska ones! Seriously I think journalism may be dead!!!” Brown wrote. “One particular article makes me sad to see how far some Alaskans have fallen! When I was a kid growing up in the bush of Alaska, Alaskans were in Alaska for the peace and freedom that came with living there!
“Real Alaskas [sic] don’t judge people on how they live or what they wear. Alaskans had honor and integrity!,” Brown continued. “People like Mark Hofstad would have never survived in the real bush of Alaska.”
Brown also names Jim Stanford in the caption, noting he used to know the family and was one of their “closest neighbors.” In the story, he’s quoted as saying the Browns “seemed like conmen” and “weren’t living off the land, building their own cabin and stuff like that.”
Screenrant adds that the negative feelings may stem from 2014 when six of the Brown family were charged with fraud related to the Permanent Fund Dividend, which is for Alaskan citizens only. Billy Brown and his son, Bam, both took plea deals and the charges against the rest of the family were dropped. They did have to pay back the $21,000 they were given by the program.
No matter the truth, it is clear that some feelings toward the Browns have soured over the years. What this means for the show’s future, is up in the air ahead of a possible 14th season for the reality series.
