MAASKAAT, GIINARUAT, GIINAQUQ – MASKS MAAS’KAAQ ATURU. – USE THE MASK. Masking is an ancient Alutiiq tradition. For centuries, Native artists carved images of powerful ancestors, animal spirits, and mythological beings into wood and bark. Masks were made in many sizes. Palm-sized miniatures may have been used to teach children traditional stories or carried by […]
KUKUMYARLUNI – WHISTLING PAAPUMA NIUTAAKIIKUT, “KUKUUMYARKUNACI, IIYAQ TAICIQNILUKU.” – MY GRANDMOTHER TOLD US, “DON’T WHISTLE; YOU ARE CALLING FOR THE DEVIL.” Whistling is a fun, light-hearted activity in contemporary Alutiiq communities. Children make whistles from willow branches, hunters call animals with whistles carved from green alder, and comically masked carolers travel from house to house […]
SAANIIK – SLED SAANIILILLRIAKUT QUPURAT TASKAA’IRLUKI. – WE MADE A SLED TO CARRY WOOD. Sleds are an ancient and widely used piece of technology. Designed to reduce friction, they help people carry loads over land. Sleds are common among northern cultures for travel in snow and ice, but they can also be found in warm […]
MAQIWIK – STEAM BATH MAQIWIK UQNAARLLIA. – THE BANYA WAS HOT. Alutiiq sod houses had a small side chamber designed specifically for steam bathing. This room had a low ceiling and a narrow, covered doorway that trapped steam. People carried hot rocks into the steam bath with special wooden tongs and piled them into a […]