Tuullek; Tuulautek– Tongs Keniyaqama tuulautek aturtaagka.– When I cook I use tongs. Tongs were common tools in ancestral Alutiiq households. Carvers fashioned these implements by lashing together two lengths of wood shaped with flat oval ends. This created an effective tool for moving hot rocks. Heating rocks was a daily task, as people used hot […]
Tuma; Tumet – Footprint Taqukaraat tumait ang’ut. – The bears’ footprints are large. Like animal tracks, human footprints are a common part of the Kodiak environment. Today Kodiak’s muddy shores capture the tread of sneakers and rubber boots, but in the past, they recorded the passage of bare feet. Kodiak Alutiiq people seldom wore shoes, […]
Uksuaq – Fall Uksuartuq awa’i. – It is fall now. Fall along Alaska’s gulf coast arrives with a palette of changing colors. The hills fade from green to gold, coastal meadows blaze with bright red fireweed and elderberry leaves, and the skies darken from blue to grey as the days shorten and winter storms reappear. […]
Caguyaq – Hunting Hat Caguyaq qupuramek canamauq. – The hunting hat is made of wood. In the cool, wet Kodiak environment, hats are an essential item of clothing. Among Alutiiqs, headgear was once fashioned from many different materials. Warm, water-resistant hats were sewn from animal pelts and loon skins, woven from spruce root, and carved […]