Fur Seal — Aatak, Isuwiq Aatat quiliutaartut. – Fur seals are (always) fat. Each November, northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) leave their summer home in the Pribilof Islands, swimming south to winter in the warmer waters off California. Until they return the following summer, these animals rarely touch land. Most fur seals live between ten […]
Team works independently and in partnership with NOAA Fisheries. For Native American Heritage Month, NOAA Fisheries celebrates the Indigenous scientists who help make our work in marine mammal conservation possible. The Tribal Government of the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island conducts high-level science and management of their marine resources. They work independently and in […]
Seal — Isuwiq Isuwiq piturnirtuq. – The seal tastes good. Kodiak’s sea mammals provided a variety of resources for Alutiiq people. Seals, sea lions, porpoises, and whales produced meat for food, oil for light, hides for boat coverings, and bone and sinew for tools. Harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) were particularly important because they were available […]
Ugwik – Sea mammal haul out rock Wiinaq ugwigmi et’uq. – The sea lion is on the haul-out rock. The literal translation of the Alutiiq word ugwik is ‘a place to climb on top of.’ Speakers use this term to refer to sea mammal rocks, spots where seals and sea lions rest along the shore. This […]