CUUTEQ – EAR 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, […]
URIITAQ – CHITON KASUKUAGMEN AGKUMA, URIITARSURCIQUA. – WHEN I GO TO AKHIOK I AM GOING TO GO GET SOME BIDARKIES (CHITONS). Kodiak’s intertidal fauna include a variety of chitons, a mollusk related to clams, snails, and limpets. Chitons have eight symmetrical, overlapping shell plates that cover a soft body and a large oval foot. […]
The Rasmuson Foundation has granted the Alutiiq Museum $25,000 to support its operations. The unsolicited grant arrived in the mail in January. It was accompanied by a note of praise for the organization’s leadership and encouragement for the museum’s work. Rasmuson Foundation President and CEO Diane Kaplan wrote, “This grant is for general support […]
QILUT – GUTS AANAQA ISUWIM QILUNEK KENIRLLIA. – MY MOTHER COOKED SEAL GUTS. In addition to food and oil, Kodiak’s mammals provided the Alutiiq with gut: a flexible, durable, waterproof material derived from the intestines of bears and sea mammals. Gut was sewn into a variety of bags, caps, and hooded jackets: the Gortex […]