Gun-Nutek Taatillka nutengq’rtaallia. – My late father always had a gun. The Alutiiq word for gun, nutek, comes from the verb nutegluku, “to shoot it.” The first firearms Alutiiq people encountered were flintlock muskets imported by Russian traders. Stephen Glotov, who wintered in Alitak Bay in 1763, used musket fire to scare Alutiiq warriors attacking his ship. […]
Meteor — Pamyulek Akgua’aq pamyulegmek tangellrianga. – The other night I saw a meteor. A meteor is a piece of space rock that burns as it falls through the Earth’s atmosphere, creating a bright streak in the night sky. The Alutiiq term for a meteor—pamyulek—comes from the word pamyuq for tail or handle; something that extends out […]
KODIAK—A digital place names map is the newest addition to the Alutiiq Museum’s website. This interactive tool allows visitors to explore over three hundred Alutiiq/Sugpiaq terms for Kodiak’s geographic features, landmarks, and communities. The map is based on research conducted by Dehrich Chya, the museum’s director of language and living culture. It was produced with […]
Ear — Cuuteq Cuuteng’rtuq angsqanek. – He has large ears. In classical Alutiiq society, people decorated their ears. Historic paintings and ancient drawings show both men and women wearing numerous strands of beads from their earlobes and the cartilage around the outer ears. Such jewelry helped to demonstrate a person’s identity—their family connections, age, […]