Thunder — Kalliq Kallikan alingnartaartut. – When it is thundering it is scary. Thunder is the loud, booming noise created by the rapid expansion and contraction of air heated by a lightning strike. As electricity, in the form of lightning, travels through the air, it opens a channel. When the electricity dissipates, the channel collapses, […]
Cross — KRistaaq Introduced to Kodiak by nineteenth-century Russian Orthodox clergy, the Christian cross is a symbol that appears widely in Alutiiq communities. Although kRistaaq sounds like the word Christ, it comes from the Russian word for cross, kRest, which may be related to the Latin word ‘crux.’ It is not derived from KRistuusaq, the Alutiiq word for […]
KODIAK, Alaska – The Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley (WMEC 39) and its crew returned to its homeport of Kodiak following a successful 57-day patrol in the Arctic Ocean and Bering Sea, Monday. Nicknamed the “Bulldog of the Bering,” the Alex Haley and crew supported multiple strategic-level objectives for the Seventeenth Coast Guard District and the U.S. Northern Command, including providing […]
Seal — Isuwiq Isuwiq piturnirtuq. – The seal tastes good. Kodiak’s sea mammals provided a variety of resources for Alutiiq people. Seals, sea lions, porpoises, and whales produced meat for food, oil for light, hides for boat coverings, and bone and sinew for tools. Harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) were particularly important because they were available […]