Tamuuliciqukut uksurpailan.–We will make dry fish before the winter. Winter in the Kodiak Archipelago quickly follows summer. As the days darken and stormy weather sets in, the landscape turns rapidly from green to brown, the temperature drops, and wet, windy days replace the warmer, foggy days of fall. In Prince William Sound, Alutiiq children once […]
Laampaq–Lamp Laam’paaq kuarsgu.–Light the lamp. From Kodiak to Greenland, Native people used stone oil lamps to heat and light their homes. On Kodiak, artisans formed lamps from beach cobbles of sandstone, granite, or a greenish-gray igneous stone called tonalite. Craftsmen formed lamps by sanding and pecking—banging one cobble against another. Although time-consuming, this technique produced […]
Tuugawik–Oven PiRuq tuugawigmek ansgu.–Take the perok out of the oven. For many thousands of years, people around the world have used holes in the ground for cooking. From the Hawaiian pig roast to the New England clambake, earth ovens provide an excellent place to cook many types of foods, and they are easy to build. […]
Pilinguar–Adopt Wiiwaq pilinguaq–My younger sibling is adopted. The Alutiiq word pilinguar translates literally as, “to make one’s own.” Alutiiq speakers use this word for adoption. It is a very specific term for adding a person to one’s family, or for fostering a child. It is not typically used for circumstances like adopting a pet or […]