Tang’rciqamken – Good ByeTang’rciqamken camiku. – I will see you again sometime. For example, saying goodbye in Alutiiq is a lot harder than saying hello. Cama’i, the Alutiiq greeting, is a simple one word, a two-syllable welcome that people remember easily. To say farewell, however, you must use a full Alutiiq phrase. The common leave-taking […]
A large wildfire broke out in the community of Chiniak, located 45 miles from the city of Kodiak on Thursday night, lighting up the sky to the southeast of the city. As of Friday, the fire grew to engulf over 2,ooo acres as it took out the Chiniak library, as well as several homes on […]
Litnauwiluni – TeachUciitilat litnauwitaartut. – The school teachers always teach. Children in Alutiiq communities learned traditional skills by playing and working with adults. Children’s toys were miniature replicas of adult tools that helped youth practice the essential activities of a subsistence lifestyle. By age six, girls were weaving mats and assisting their mothers with household […]
Uspaq – Vaccination Cuumi uspaq’rtaaqait. – They used to give us vaccinations. Vaccinations may seem like a feat of twentieth-century bioengineering, but they have a long history in Europe and even Alaska. The world’s first vaccines became available after 1796, when British physician Edward Jenner used cowpox to develop an immunization for smallpox. Russian authorities […]