Cailnguq – Tundra Kal’ut awatiini cailnguq. – Around Karluk is tundra. Across the northern hemisphere, tundra environments occur above treeline and below year-round snowpack. Although tundra is commonly associated with mountain slopes, it also occurs all the way to sea level. For example, extensive, low-lying areas of the southern Kodiak Archipelago contain moist tundra, a […]
All’itaq; Alitaq – Alitak All’itami et’ukut. – We are at Alitak. In the early nineteenth century, Russian traders established a community at the entrance to Olga Creek in southern Olga Bay, known as Alitak. Built on a terrace above the creek’s lagoon, the settlement was a fish processing station, where Alutiiqs worked to preserve salmon […]
Uriisaq – Angelica Uriisat tak’ut. – The angelica are tall. Angelica (Agelica lucida) is a large, leafy herb with a stout fleshy stem and small, greenish-white flowers that form a large head. This aromatic plant, which grows in Kodiak’s coastal meadows, on beaches, and along streambanks, is prized for its healing qualities. However, be careful […]
Kalliq – ThunderKallikan 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 lightening, travels through the air, it opens a channel. When the electricity dissipates, the channel collapses, creating […]