Filipino — Filipiinaq Filipiinat taitaallriit kiagmi pekcaturluteng kaanaRimen. – The Filipino people used to come in the summer to work in the canneries. People of Filipino heritage have been part of Alaska history for over two hundred and thirty years. The first record of a Filipino person in Alaska is from 1788 when a man […]
Starfish — Agyaruaq Agyaruat irurtuut. – Starfish have many legs. Sea stars, commonly known as starfish, are abundant, colorful residents of Kodiak’s waters. There are numerous species, which can be found in almost any environment–from rocky shores to mudflats, and from tidal pools to deep marine waters. Sea stars are echinoderms–spiny skinned creatures related to […]
Battered Thing — MuRutuumasqaq Unaqaq yaamaq giinangq’rtuq. – This pounded rock has a face. muRutuumas Alutiiq people crafted stone into a variety of useful tools, turning Kodiak bedrock into subsistence gear, utensils, and artwork. There were three major ways of working stone. People chipped glassy chert into elegant arrows and hide scrapers. They ground slate […]
Pet — Qungutuwaq Qungutuwangq’rtua. – I have a pet. Qungutuwaq is the Alutiiq word for a tame animal. It likely began as a term for a wild animal habituated to people, but it has come to mean all kinds of pets. Tame animals, especially birds and dogs, were part of ancestral Alutiiq villages. Alutiiq people kept […]