Bracelet — Tayarnerutaq Tayarnerutamek nuliqa pikisk’gka. – I gave my wife a bracelet. The Alutiiq word tayarnerutaq means “something for your wrist.” In classical Alutiiq society, several objects fell into this category. Some items worn on the wrist were jewelry, bracelets created for adornment. In the nineteenth century, Alutiiq women wore bracelets fashioned from glass beads. Worn […]
Backpack, Hunting Bag — Atmak, Ekgwik, Ekguiyutaq Atmangq’rtuq. – He has a backpack. Packing well for a hunting or fishing trip was as important in the past as it is today. Alutiiq men filled their kayaks with useful things: wooden containers filled with fresh food and water, sleeping blankets, and even inflated seal bladders for […]
DALLAS, TEXAS — The shots that rang out over Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, 60 years ago — on Nov. 22, 1963 — lasted just under six seconds. And while the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy profoundly changed America, those six seconds tainted the city where it occurred, marking the start of a long […]
Cigarette — Puyuruaq Puyuruanilu englumni!—Don’t smoke in my house! Tobacco was introduced to the Alutiiq by Russian entrepreneurs. Traders imported this commodity in large quantities for use as payment and provisions for Native hunters and laborers. An 1833 report on Kodiak area settlements by Vasilii Ivanovich Kashevaroff, the son of a Russian merchant and an […]