Qutirluni – To beachcomb Caqimek ikugtaartukut qutiyaqamta. – Whenever we go beachcombing, we always find something. Kodiak’s windy shores provide a wealth of resources, from blue mussels and bull kelp to birds’ eggs. However, not all of the valuable items found on the beach are from the archipelago. Islanders have a long history of beachcombing, […]
ITERWIK / AWATII – RIM ASUM AWATII GAGTUQ. – THE RIM OF THE POT IS COARSE. The Alutiiq word iterwik literally means ‘it’s entrance.’ This term can describe many things, from a wind that blows into the mouth of a bay to the rim of a basket. Openings have symbolic importance in Alutiiq culture and […]
SIGTUNAQ – SITKINAK ISLAND ARWEGET SIGTUNAMEN AG’UT. – THE WHALES ARE SWIMMING TO SITKINAK ISLAND. Sitkinak is one of the Trinity Islands, a group of three large, windswept, grassy islands off the southern coast of Kodiak. Sitkinak is the largest. It stretches about 30 km east to west, forming the southern boundary of Sitkinak Strait. […]