Quiver — Ruuwauteq Ruuwautet ruuwat tuumiaq’rsuutiit. – Quivers are holders for arrows. Alutiiq hunters used different kinds of arrows for hunting on land and sea, and they stored this weaponry in a variety of quivers—portable sheaths. Arrows for caribou and game birds had fixed heads and people carried them in skin quivers. At sea, hunters […]
Every Valentine’s Day the Alutiiq Museum shows little love for its volunteers. We are fortunate to have many friends who contribute their time and talents to our work. To highlight the importance of our volunteers, we honor one outstanding contribution with our Volunteer of the Year award. For 2023, we picked Jim and Bonnie Dillard. […]
Earring — Kulunguaq Kulunguaqa kataigiiyaqa. – I dropped my earring. Earrings are one of the many items of personal adornment that Alutiiq people once used to express social identity. Like labrets, nose pins, necklaces, belts, and decorated clothing, earrings were worn by men and women and incorporated valuable materials to illustrate the wearer’s status. […]
Pipe — TRuup’kaaq, Pa’ipaaq Ata tRuup’kaaq. – Let’s see the pipe. Although tobacco was popular in the historic era, smoking tobacco was not. Historic sources indicate that Alutiiq people preferred to create snuff by adding tobacco to a mixture of wood ash, black tea, and dried crushed nettle leaves. This produced iqmik, a substance held in […]