ET’UUQ – DEEP TAANGAQ ET’UUQ. – THE WATER IS DEEP. Alaskan fishermen pull all sorts of interesting things out of the ocean. The North Pacific’s strong currents carry an abundance of flotsam to Kodiak waters, delivering items from as far away as the tropics. Sometimes, however, these finds come not from surface of the ocean […]
PASHMAKIIT – SHOES NAAMA PASHMAKIIGKA? – WHERE’S MY (2) SHOES? Traditional Alutiiq clothing included long hoodless bird-skin parkas, waterproof gut jackets, and a variety of fur, spruce root, and wooden hats, but footgear was rarely worn. Only in the coldest weather did people put on shoes. Next time you watch the Kodiak Alutiiq Dancers, […]
CUKILANARPAK – DEVIL’S CLUB CUKILANARPAT TAK’UT. – THE DEVIL’S CLUB ARE TALL. Hikers in Alaska’s coastal forests are familiar with devil’s club, known by its appropriate Latin name Echinopanax horridum. This spiny member of the ginseng family can grow up to ten feet tall and flourishes in wet ravines under the spruce canopy. It has broad […]
CUKIILAT – CRYSTALS IKUK’GKA CUKIILAQ. – I FOUND A CRYSTAL. Quartz is one of the most common materials on earth. Made of silicon dioxide (SiO2), this hard mineral occurs in a wide variety of forms and colors and is a major constituent of many igneous and sedimentary rocks. One form of quartz is the […]