Uyaq—Uyak Bay Kugyasigtaallriit Uyarmi.—They used to seine in Uyak Bay. Uyak Bay is the largest fjord in the Kodiak Archipelago. Carved by Pleistocene glaciers, this 40 km waterway stretches from its wide month on Shelikof Strait far into the interior of Kodiak Island, narrowing towards its head. Uyaq is so long it nearly cuts Kodiak in half. […]
The Alaska Anthropological Association has awarded Dr. April Laktonen Counceller, the Executive Director of the Alutiiq Museum, its Outstanding Current Contribution Award. The award was announced Saturday at the association’s 46th annual meeting, held this year in Nome. The Alaska Anthropological Association is a statewide organization for people working, studying, and interested in all areas […]
Qahmaquq, Mamaayaq—Cockle / Clam Qahmaquryugtua.—I want some cockles. Kodiak’s shores are encrusted with a wealth of intertidal organisms. Clams, cockles, whelks,mussels, sea urchins, chitons, limpets, and periwinkles are all available in quantities. Alutiiq people harvested these resources throughout the year, but they were particularly important in the late winter and early spring. This was a […]
Alap’aaq—African American Person Alap’aaq Nuniamen taillria.—An African-American person came to Old Harbor. African Americans began living and working in Alaska in the late nineteenth century. Although their history in the Far North is poorly documented, they came to harvest natural resources and to work for government agencies like other colonists. African Americans mined gold, […]