Larsen Bay — Uyaqsaq Tamamta uyaqsarmiuwat. – We are all Larsen Bay people. Tucked against the shore of Uyak Bay, sixty-two miles from Kodiak, the village of Larsen Bay is a cluster of houses, large metal-roofed cannery buildings, sturdy wooden docks, and boardwalks. Today, the community is home to about eighty-nine people. Named for Unga […]
New Year’s Eve — Nuuwikuutam Maqin’ra (N), Snuuwikuutam Maqin’ra (S), Nuta’aq uksugkam Maqin’ra Ernerpak nuta’aq uksugkam Maqin’ra. – Today is New Year’s Eve. A favorite Kodiak New Year’s tradition is the annual masquerade ball. This celebration of renewal occurs on January 14, New Years Day on the Julian Calendar that tracks the Orthodox year. The […]
Christmas — ARausistuaq (N), Rausistuaq (N), ARusistuaq (S) Guangkuta ARusistuartaartukut January-mi. – We always celebrate Christmas in January. Many of Kodiak’s Alutiiq families celebrate Christmas twice each year: American Christmas on December 25 and Russian Orthodox Christmas on January 7. Although both events commemorate the birth of Christ, they are quite different. American Christmas features […]
Winter — Uksuq Tamuuliciqukut uksurpailan. – We will make dry fish before the winter. Winter in the Kodiak Archipelago quickly follows summer. As the days darken and stormy weather sets in, the landscape turns rapidly from green to brown, the temperature drops, and wet, windy days replace the warmer, foggy days of fall. In Prince […]