SAQEMKAQ – FLEA SAQEMKAQ QETGAUWARTUQ. – THE FLEA IS JUMPING AROUND. In Alutiiq, the word saqemkaq means flea. People refer to the biting vermin found on both household pets and wild animals with this term. However, saqemkaq can also describe the lice found on birds, particularly ducks and eagles. This word comes from the root […]
NAURWIICIQ – NORWEGIAN NAURWIICIT QIK’RTAMEN TAITAALLRIIT IQALLUGSURLUTENG. – NORWEGIANS USED TO COME TO KODIAK ISLAND AND FISH. In the 1870s, Scandinavian men began to settle in the Alutiiq world. Danes, Norwegians, and Swedes came to coastal Alaska to participate in the salmon fishing industry. Their numbers increased in the early twentieth century, drawn by other […]
TENGLUNI – FLY (VERB) UKSUQ TAIKAN SAQUL’AAT TENGTAARTUT AGLUTENG. – WHEN WINTER COMES, THE DUCKS FLY AWAY. Birds are special creatures in the Alutiiq world. They can fly the skies, walk the land, and swim the seas. Because of their unique ability to traverse the many layers of the universe, birds are messengers. They facilitate […]
TANQIK, AKIRNEQ – LIGHT TANQIK KUARSGU. – TURN ON THE LIGHT. Once very long ago, when Alutiiq people lived in sod houses and paddled the world by kayak, the world was dark. A powerful chief controlled the sun, moon, and stars and only allowed them to light his village. Many men tried to capture light […]