Kulic’aaq–Easter Bread Paas’kaami kulic’aalitaartut.–At Easter they always make Easter bread. Kulic’aaq is the Alutiiq word for the sweet bread baked, decorated, and eaten by the Orthodox faithful every Easter. Similar to Italian panettone, this rich bread contains milk, eggs, butter, sugar, nuts, fruit, and a variety or flavorings like vanilla, rum, orange zest, cardamom, and […]
Salt Fish — Sulunaq, Salt Fish Sulunaq piturnirtaartuq. – Salt fish is always tasty. For centuries, people around the world have enjoyed salted fish. The interaction of salt and fish enzymes creates a wonderful flavor, especially in cod. Salt is also an effective preservative. It limits the growth of bacteria. Fishermen working in both the […]
Alphabet — Aapit, Aapitniiq Nutaan Alutiit aapit liitapet. – Now we are learning the Alutiiq alphabet. An alphabet is a system of characters used to represent the sounds in a language. By seeing a character, a reader can reproduce a sound without hearing it. In essence, alphabets store sounds. There are different kinds of alphabets. […]
Spring — Ugnerkaq Ugnerkartuq awa’i. – Spring is here. Spring is an unpredictable season in the Kodiak Archipelago. Some years, calm weather ushers in longer days and milder temperatures, but in others, winter storms pound the coast, and snow falls well into April. For Alutiiq people, spring is a time of waiting as the subsistence […]