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 […]
Isuwim Suqaa – Seal StomachUquq isuwim suqani etaartuq. – Oil is always in the seal stomach. Although seal meat makes a tasty meal, seals once provided much more than food. In classical Alutiiq society, every part of the animal was used. Skins were fashioned into clothing and boat covers, intestines were sewn into waterproof bags […]
Aatunaq – Wild Rhubarb; SourdockAatunat qiurtut. – The sourdock are ready. Sourdock (Latin: Rumex fenestratus) is a member of the buckwheat family that produces tasty green leaves. It is sometimes called wild rhubarb, though there is a similar, related plant that botanists classify as wild rhubarb (Latin: Rumex arcticus). Both plants have tasty green leaves. […]
A few years ago, Link Olson wanted students in his mammalogy class to see one of the neatest little creatures in Alaska, the northern flying squirrel. He baited a few live traps with peanut butter rolled in oats and placed them in spruce trees. When he returned the next day, he found no flying squirrels. […]