House, Cabin — Engluq (N), Ungluq (S) Nutaamek engluliyut. – They are building a new house. When Alutiiq people travel outside Alaska or meet visitors from distant places, they are often asked about igloos. “Do you live in an igloo? Do you know anyone who does?” This tired stereotype traces its origins to twentieth-century portrayals […]
Night — Unuk Agyat akirtaartut unugmi. – The stars are bright at night In the northern hemisphere, the autumnal equinox is the September day when the sun shines directly on the Earth’s equator, creating roughly equal periods of light and darkness. The equinox is the official first day of fall. In Alaska, however, the season […]
Buy — Igu’urluku KaaRamek igu’ullianga. – I bought a car. Before the development of a western cash economy, Kodiak’s Alutiiq people obtained many of the foods and materials they needed through trade. In good weather, men traveled by skin boat to communities to share their surplus goods and barter for items. Trade with the Alaska […]
Filipino — Filipiinaq Filipiinat taitaallriit kiagmi pekcaturluteng kaanaRimen. – The Filipino people used to come in the summer to work in the canneries. People of Filipino heritage have been part of Alaska history for over two hundred and thirty years. The first record of a Filipino person in Alaska is from 1788 when a man […]