Christmas — ARausistuaq (N), Rausistuaq (N), ARusistuaq (S) Guangkuta ARusistuartaartukut January-mi. – We always celebrate Christmas in January. Many of Kodiak’s Alutiiq families celebrate Christmas twice each year: American Christmas on December 25 and Russian Orthodox Christmas on January 7. Although both events commemorate the birth of Christ, they are quite different. American Christmas features […]
Harpoon — Ayaquq Ayaquq egtaakait cuumi arwanun. – They used to throw a harpoon at a whale before. For thousands of years, Alutiiq people used harpoons to hunt sea mammals in Kodiak’s rich marine waters. Harpoon points were carved from bone and fitted into a wooden shaft equipped with an air-filled float. Alutiiq people […]
Hat — Saapeq; Slaapaq Cuumi taaten angutet slaapamek aturtaallriit.—Before, old men used to wear hats. Collections of traditional Alutiiq clothing are filled with hats. Wide-rimmed woven hats of spruce root; hunting visors bent from a single piece of wood; tall, embroidered skin hats; closely fitting fur caps; wooden helmets carved in the shape of a […]