LLAANIQ – WEST, WEST WIND MACAQ LLAANIRMEN KALUTAARTUQ. – THE SUN ALWAYS SETS IN THE WEST. Among the world’s cultures the cardinal directions—north, east, south and west—are tied to the location of the rising and setting sun. For example, the English word west comes from an ancient Germanic word meaning down—referring to the direction where […]
(Kodiak, AK) – On October 2, 2021, Evan P. Nicolai, a monk associated with the Russian Orthodox Church, turned himself into the Kodiak Police Department to report that he had sexually abused an 8-year-old child. Mr. Nicolai arrived accompanied by the abused child’s parent and a Priest of the Kodiak Russian Orthodox Church. As a monk, […]
AMIQ – SKIN/HIDE ARHANEK AMIIRTAALLRIIT, TAUMI-LLU ATKULILUTENG. – THEY USED TO SKIN SEA OTTERS AND THEN MAKE COATS OUT OF THEM. Across the Alutiiq world, animal hides were once essential material for clothing, bedding, and boats. Alutiiq people stitched cormorant and caribou skins into parkas, wrapped their families in plush bear hides for sleeping, and […]
SIGTUNAQ – SITKINAK ISLAND ARWEGET SIGTUNAMEN AG’UT. – THE WHALES ARE SWIMMING TO SITKINAK ISLAND. Sitkinak is one of the Trinity Islands, a group of three large, windswept, grassy islands off the southern coast of Kodiak. Sitkinak is the largest. It stretches about 30 km east to west, forming the southern boundary of Sitkinak Strait. […]
TUPUURUQ – AXE TUPUURULLEQ YAAMAMEK CANAMAUQ. — THE OLD AXE IS MADE OUT OF STONE. Today, Alutiiq speakers refer to axes and adzes with the term tupuuRuq, a word derived from the Russian term for an axe. However, historic sources reveal that there were once distinct Alutiiq terms for different types of adzes. The verb cikllarluku means to […]
QUIRIQ – HOARY MARMOT QUIRIT QUILITARTUT. – MARMOTS ARE FAT. The Alutiiq word for marmot may come from quili- a root word meaning fat. This in an apt description. Hoary marmots are the largest member of the squirrel family. These plump mammals that can weigh over ten pounds and eat heartily during the summer to fatten up […]
KAUGCIRLUNI – TO HAIL LLAAMI KAUGCIRTUQ. – IT IS HAILING OUTSIDE. Hail is precipitation that forms in storm clouds and falls to Earth as pieces of ice. Hailstones are created when updrafts carry water droplets into cold air. The droplets freeze and stick to each other as air currents repeatedly cycle them through clouds. Each cycle […]
USPELLUKU – MEASURE NUQAQ USP’RKUTA’AQA. – I AM GOING TO MEASURE THE ATLATL. All measuring systems rely on uniformity, a standard way to record things like length, weight, and volume. Today we use rulers to measure inches and feet, or a scale to record kilos. Before the adoption of the contemporary measuring systems, like the […]
KAC’AMAASAQ – HALF DRIED FISH KAC’AMAASANEK AWA’I PILITAAN’ITUT. – THEY DON’T MAKE HALF DRIED FISH ANYMORE. Fish are a dietary staple in Alutiiq communities, a food that can be harvested in abundance in summer and fall and preserved to eat through the rest of the year. Just as there are many ways to catch fish, […]