Weasel — Amitatuk Amitatut naryartaakenka. – I used to trap weasels. The short-tailed weasel (Mustela erminea), also known as an ermine, is one of only six land mammals indigenous to the Kodiak Archipelago. Biologists believe that weasels, along with bears, otters, foxes, voles, and bats, colonized Kodiak following the last major glaciation. Weasels probably migrated […]
Swim — Kuimarluni Piugta imarmi kuimartuq. – The dog is swimming in the ocean. Surrounded by sparkling ocean waters and fantastic scenery, Kodiak may seem like an ideal place for a summer swim but consider the water temperature. Although the archipelago lies in the path of the Alaska current, a flow of warm water that […]
Candy — Kantiiq Kantiit neqnirtartut.—Candies are sweet. Candy is any food in which sugar, or a similar sweetener, is the main ingredient. The common Alutiiq word for candy—kantiiq comes directly from English. However, some Alutiiq speakers use the term neqnisqaq, which means something sweet, or kan’guitaq, an Alutiiq version of the Russian word for candy. […]
Quiver — Ruuwauteq Ruuwautet ruuwat tuumiaq’rsuutiit. – Quivers are holders for arrows. Alutiiq hunters used different kinds of arrows for hunting on land and sea, and they stored this weaponry in a variety of quivers—portable sheaths. Arrows for caribou and game birds had fixed heads and people carried them in skin quivers. At sea, hunters […]