Awl — Siilaq, Siilagkaq (N) Siilaq ipegtuq. – The awl is sharp. An awl is a sharp, pointed tool used to punch holes in leather. In prehistoric times, Alutiiqs fashioned awls from wood, bone, and ivory. Archaeological data indicate that bird bone was the most common material. To create an awl, a carver removed the […]
Dolphin, Porpoise — Mangaq Mangat kiagmi amlertaartut, paRaguutami maligkaturtaakiikut. – There are always a lot of dolphins in the summertime, they always follow us in the boat. The Pacific white-sided dolphin (lagenorhynchus obliquidens) is a common resident of the deep waters surrounding Kodiak. The average adult is about seven and a half feet long, weighs […]
The Barbara Smith Pathfinder Award was awarded to Patrick Saltonstall, a curator of archaeology at the Alutiiq Museum in Kodiak for 28 years. The award is given to an individual for indexing or preparing guides to Alaska historical material and is named after Barbara Smith, an historian, archivist and exhibit curator who prepared invaluable research […]
Hunter — Pisurta Taugna suk pisurta. – This person is a hunter. The Alutiiq word pisurta translates literally as “one who hunts.” Hunting has always been essential to life on Kodiak, a way to procure not only food but many of the raw materials of daily living: animal skins for clothing and boat coverings, gut for waterproof […]