Amikuruaq (N), Utguiruaq (S)–Squid Amikuruanek piturtaartut cali.–Squid are eaten too. Squid, with their streamlined bodies and tentacled appendages, are cephalopods, related to the octopus. They are abundant in the Gulf of Alaska, where more than fifteen species of squid are known to thrive and others have moved north with recent changes in ocean environments. Aggressive […]
Caskaq–Cup Sarsataartukut caskagunk aturluku.–We drink our tea using a cup. Some historians believe that 1840 was a pivotal moment in Alutiiq history, a point where cultural change accelerated, with major shifts in Kodiak’s social and economic landscape. Devastated by the smallpox epidemic of 1837–1839, Kodiak’s Alutiiq communities reorganized into regional settlements, where survivors began to […]
Salam inua–Shell’s Inside (Abalone; Mother of Pearl) Salat inuat rirtut.–Shell insides are shiny. The Pinto Abalone (Haliotis kamtschatkana) is a shallow-water, marine snail. It is one of eight abalone species that inhabit the Pacific coast of North America, and the only abalone that lives in Alaskan waters. It can be found from Alaska’s Yakutat Bay […]
Kaugya’at naut’stagwit.–Fox Farm (place to grow foxes) Kaugya’at naut’starwiat et’llria Long Island-mi.–There used to be a fox farm on Long Island. Fur farming was once one of Alaska’s largest industries. For nearly two centuries, Alaskans raised a variety of small furbearers fox, chinchilla, rabbit, mink, muskrat, and beaver. The industry worked to improve the quality […]