Anchorage — Kicarwik Kicarwigmen agkutartua ernerpak. – I am going to Anchorage today. Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city, lies 250 miles north of the Kodiak Archipelago, at the far northern end of Cook Inlet. In many ways, Anchorage is a gateway to the Alutiiq world. Airline flights to Homer, Cordova, Kodiak, and King Salmon, the major […]
Awl — Siilaq, Siilagkaq (N) Siilaq ipegtuq. – The awl is sharp. An awl is a sharp, pointed tool used to punch holes in leather. In prehistoric times, Alutiiqs fashioned awls from wood, bone, and ivory. Archaeological data indicate that bird bone was the most common material. To create an awl, a carver removed the […]
Dolphin, Porpoise — Mangaq Mangat kiagmi amlertaartut, paRaguutami maligkaturtaakiikut. – There are always a lot of dolphins in the summertime, they always follow us in the boat. The Pacific white-sided dolphin (lagenorhynchus obliquidens) is a common resident of the deep waters surrounding Kodiak. The average adult is about seven and a half feet long, weighs […]
Half Dried Fish — Kac’amaasaq Kac’amaasanek awa’i pilitaan’itut. – They don’t make half dried fish anymore. Fish are a dietary staple in Alutiiq communities, a food that can be harvested in abundance in summer and fall and preserved to eat through the rest of the year. Just as there are many ways to catch fish, […]