Uganik — Unganuut Suuget Unganuuni etaallriit. — People used to live on Uganik. Tucked deep into the protected shoreline of Uganik Bay’s Northeast Arm, Uganik Village was a small Alutiiq community inhabited until around 1916. Alutiiq people were living in the village when Russian traders arrived on Kodiak in the late 1700s. The community was […]
String, Twine — IRafkuruaq, IRafkungcuk, WiRufkuruaq IRafkuruanek initalitallriit. – They used string to make clothesline. String games like cats cradle are a popular pastime around the globe. From Australia to Asia, Africa, North America, and the high Arctic, people have long used a simple loop of string and their fingers to make designs. The function […]
Partially Smoked Salmon — Sikiaq Ugnerkami iqallut taikata sikialitaartukut. – In the spring when the salmon come, we make the partially smoked salmon. Sikiaq, a lightly smoked salmon, is a common offering at Alutiiq breakfast tables. Stay at an Alutiiq lodge or bed and breakfast and you may awake to the aroma of this baking […]
Cousin — Iluwaq Amlesqanek iluwangq’rtua. – I have many cousins. The term cousin can be applied to a confusing array of relatives. In American society, a cousin is any child of an aunt or an uncle. However, cultures around the world differentiate between types of cousins, especially parallel and cross cousins. Parallel cousins are the […]