Qasartuq – RawMamaayat qasartaapet. – We eat clams raw. There is a common misconception that the word Eskimo means “eaters of raw flesh.” Linguistic research, however, suggests that the word actually translates as “snowshoe netter.” Despite this mistranslation, northern peoples are known for their consumption of uncooked foods. The Chukchi and Sami peoples eat many […]
Arwiryaa’aq – Bridge Kaiwik angituq arwiryaa’akun. – The old woman is coming back via the bridge. The Alutiiq word arwiryaa’aq means crossing place or ford, and it has come to mean bridge in modern usage. This word is distinct from the term niraq – which refers to a temporary bridge, like a log used to cross […]
Ushnerluku – ErodeNuna ushnertuq. – The land is eroding. Erosion is the gradual wearing away of the earth by natural forces. Over thousands of years, wind, waves, rain, snow, and ice reshape the landscape, carving through soil and bedrock to create new landforms. Kodiak’s complex coastline, with its steep-sided fjords, inlets, straits, estuaries, lagoons, rocky […]
Ciruneq – HornUna luuskaaq cirunemk canamauq. – This spoon is made from horn. In the Alutiiq language the words for horn and antler are the same–ciruneq. Like antler, horn is a hard but flexible material that grows from an animal’s heads. Typically found in pairs, horns feature a core of bone covered with a hard […]