ATEQ – NAME GUI ATQA SOPHIE. – MY NAME IS SOPHIE. In classical Alutiiq society, children were often named for a beloved and recently deceased relative. Before birth, a child’s father would choose two such names, one for a boy and one for a girl. The child was not thought to resemble its namesake or […]
Amikuq (n), Utguiq (S) – Octopus Utguit yaamat acaatni etaartut. – Octopus are always (located) under rocks. Kodiak’s rocky shores are home to a variety of octopi. These shy creatures live in deep intertidal and shallow subtidal environments and are commonly found beneath rocks. Octopus can weigh over forty pounds. They capture fish, shellfish, and crab, which […]
PUGTAQUTAQ – SEAL FLOAT, BUOY ISUWIM SUQANEK PUGTAQUTALITAARTUT. – THEY ALWAYS MAKE BOUYS OUT OF SEAL STOMACH. The Alutiiq word pugtaqutaq refers to a float, an object that provides buoyancy. Today, Alutiiq speakers use the term for marine buoys, life preservers, floatplane pontoons, or even the corks that line the top edge of a fish […]
NAPAQ (SPRUCE); UQGWIK (DECIDUOUS) SUN’AMI MAANI NAPAT AMLERTUT, ANGSINARLUTENG CALI. KAL’UNI, LARSEN BAY-MI NAPAITAARTUKUT. – HERE IN KODIAK WE HAVE A LOT OF SPRUCE TREES AND TALL ONES, BUT IN KARLUK AND LARSEN BAY WE DON’T HAVE ANY. The Kodiak Archipelago lies at the ecological boundary of windswept coastal tundra and the foggy rainforests of […]