Guuta’ista – DentistGuuta’istat alikanka. – I am afraid of dentists. Before contact with the West, Alutiiq people relied on their own resourcefulness for oral health. At that time, cavities were not much of a problem. Without a major source of sugar in the diet, most northern cultures had good dental health. Instead of brushing teeth, […]
Tang’rciqamken – Good ByeTang’rciqamken camiku. – I will see you again sometime. For example, saying goodbye in Alutiiq is a lot harder than saying hello. Cama’i, the Alutiiq greeting, is a simple one word, a two-syllable welcome that people remember easily. To say farewell, however, you must use a full Alutiiq phrase. The common leave-taking […]
Litnauwiluni – TeachUciitilat litnauwitaartut. – The school teachers always teach. Children in Alutiiq communities learned traditional skills by playing and working with adults. Children’s toys were miniature replicas of adult tools that helped youth practice the essential activities of a subsistence lifestyle. By age six, girls were weaving mats and assisting their mothers with household […]
Uspaq – Vaccination Cuumi uspaq’rtaaqait. – They used to give us vaccinations. Vaccinations may seem like a feat of twentieth-century bioengineering, but they have a long history in Europe and even Alaska. The world’s first vaccines became available after 1796, when British physician Edward Jenner used cowpox to develop an immunization for smallpox. Russian authorities […]