Qahmaquq, Mamaayaq—Cockle / Clam Qahmaquryugtua.—I want some cockles. Kodiak’s shores are encrusted with a wealth of intertidal organisms. Clams, cockles, whelks,mussels, sea urchins, chitons, limpets, and periwinkles are all available in quantities. Alutiiq people harvested these resources throughout the year, but they were particularly important in the late winter and early spring. This was a […]
Alap’aaq—African American Person Alap’aaq Nuniamen taillria.—An African-American person came to Old Harbor. African Americans began living and working in Alaska in the late nineteenth century. Although their history in the Far North is poorly documented, they came to harvest natural resources and to work for government agencies like other colonists. African Americans mined gold, […]
Qik’rtaq—Island Quangkuta qik’rtarmiu’at.—We are island people. The Alutiiq word qik’rtaq, meaning island, is the likely source of the name Kodiak. Stephen Glotov, a Russian explorer who wintered near Cape Alitak in 1763, recorded the Native term […]
Matarngaluni—Naked Cuumi agnguartaallriit matarngaluteng.—They used to always dance naked. Clothing is an ancient and uniquely human invention. No other species makes and wears clothes. Anthropologists believe that clothing evolved for both practical and social purposes, to protect the human body from weather and to share messages. Because of its cultural origins, clothing is closely tied […]