Uksuaq – Fall Uksuartuq awa’i. – It is fall now. Fall along Alaska’s gulf coast arrives with a palette of changing colors. The hills fade from green to gold, coastal meadows blaze with bright red fireweed and elderberry leaves, and the skies darken from blue to grey as the days shorten and winter storms reappear. […]
Caguyaq – Hunting Hat Caguyaq qupuramek canamauq. – The hunting hat is made of wood. In the cool, wet Kodiak environment, hats are an essential item of clothing. Among Alutiiqs, headgear was once fashioned from many different materials. Warm, water-resistant hats were sewn from animal pelts and loon skins, woven from spruce root, and carved […]
Kasukuak – Akhiok Kasukuarmiu’ak taugkuk. – Those two are from Akhiok. Surrounded by grassy hills and tundra flats, Akhiok is Kodiak’s southernmost Alutiiq village. The present location of this remote community, ninety miles from the City of Kodiak, was settled in 1881. Additional residents moved here from Kasukuak in nearby Humpy Cove. The original community […]
Cilrayuk – Dragonfly Cilrayuk alingtaakait. – They used to be afraid of the dragonfly. Did you know that Alaska has an official insect? In 1995, the state’s school children awarded the dragonfly this special honor. The four-spotted skimmer (Libellula quadrimaculata) took the prize. Like the other 30 species of dragonflies in Alaska, this insect can […]