I Got It!, Bingo! — Pingua! Bingo-mi pingneq pingaktaaqa. – I like to win at bingo. “Pingua! I got it!” you might shout while reeling in a big salmon. However, this Alutiiq word is most commonly heard in Alutiiq language bingo games in classroom settings. Alutiiq students shout “pingua!” instead of “bingo!” when they fill […]
Barbed — Cukingq’rtuq Iqsak cukingq’rtuq. – The fishhook has a barb. Alutiiq hunters carved barbs into a variety of weapons. This included harpoon heads, arrowheads, leister prongs, and fish hooks made of strong, shock-absorbing bone, as well as sharp-edged lance heads ground from slate. These barbs were carefully designed to grip an animal’s flesh. Barb […]
The Alutiiq Museum will close its gallery on July 13th to prepare its Mission Road facilities for a major renovation. After five years of planning and fundraising, museum staff will ready the building for construction. Groundbreaking on a $13.89M expansion and renovation is scheduled to begin in August. Construction will add 3,400 ft2 to its […]
Jumper — Aq’alaq Aq’alartut iluani. – There are jumpers inside (the seine). Jumping salmon are a conspicuous sign of summer around Kodiak. Scan the surface of the ocean in June and you will see pink salmon hurling themselves out of the water as they head for their spawning grounds. When this happens, you may hear […]