Berry–Alagnaq Pingaktaa’anka alagnat. – I like berries. Kodiak’s Alutiiq people harvest seventeen varieties of berries, which are used for food, medicine, and natural dyes. Salmonberries are collected in the largest quantities, although crowberries, lowbush cranberries, and early blueberries are other favorites. Berry picking begins in late June and continues well into the fall. People often […]
Spider – MiskiiRaq Ugnerkami miskiiRat amleritaartut. – In the spring there are many spiders. There are at least 350 species of spiders in Alaska, belonging to seventeen families. Spiders are not insects. They are close relatives of ticks and mites and belong to a group called arachnids. Insects have three body parts, six legs, and […]
Midwife– Paapuskaaq Cukaluten, paapuskaaq iwa’aru! Carliangqutartuq. – Hurry, get the midwife! She’s going to have a baby. Each Alutiiq community had at least one midwife, a healer versed in herbal medicines and the arts of bloodletting, surgery, and childbirth. Appointed by her community at a young age and apprenticed to an older midwife, this woman tended […]
Beaver–Paluqtaq Pingayun paluqtat kuigmi. – There are three beavers in the creek. Although beavers (Castor canadensis) thrive around Kodiak today, they are not part of the region’s original fauna. Beavers were introduced to the archipelago in 1925 in an effort to provide valuable game for trapping and a commodity for the fashion industry. Most beaver […]