Sun’alleq – Three Saints Bay Sun’all’men agyugtua. – I want to go to Three Saints Bay. hree Saints Bay is a narrow, 8.7 mile long embayment on the southeastern side of Kodiak Island. The shores of this productive waterway have been home to Alutiiq people for millennia. Nestled between larger Kaiugnak Bay and Sitkalidak Strait, […]
Nakernaq – TalismanCarliarluki nakernaten. Nakciquten. – Take care of your talisman. You will be lucky. A rabbit’s foot, a four-leaf clover, a horseshoe–these are all widely recognized symbols of luck in modern American life. They are talismans, objects believed to provide good fortune or personal protection. People in all cultures use talismans, often carrying or […]
Ugnerkaq – Spring Ugnerkartuq awa’i. – Spring is here. Spring is an unpredictable season in the Kodiak Archipelago. Some years, calm weather ushers in longer days and milder temperatures, but in others, winter storms pound the coast and snow falls well into April. For Alutiiqs, spring is a time of waiting as the subsistence cycle […]
Taqiq – Lance Wiika taugum taqikii. – My husband was lanced by that person. Among the techniques used by Alutiiq healers, lancing and bloodletting were chief remedies for pain and illness. Elders recall that the famous tribal doctor Oleanna Ashouwak (1909–1965), a resident of Kaguyak, used these techniques to help people experiencing headaches. She would […]