KAUGCIRLUNI – TO HAIL LLAAMI KAUGCIRTUQ. – IT IS HAILING OUTSIDE. Hail is precipitation that forms in storm clouds and falls to Earth as pieces of ice. Hailstones are created when updrafts carry water droplets into cold air. The droplets freeze and stick to each other as air currents repeatedly cycle them through clouds. Each cycle […]
USPELLUKU – MEASURE NUQAQ USP’RKUTA’AQA. – I AM GOING TO MEASURE THE ATLATL. All measuring systems rely on uniformity, a standard way to record things like length, weight, and volume. Today we use rulers to measure inches and feet, or a scale to record kilos. Before the adoption of the contemporary measuring systems, like the […]
KAC’AMAASAQ – HALF DRIED FISH KAC’AMAASANEK AWA’I PILITAAN’ITUT. – THEY DON’T MAKE HALF DRIED FISH ANYMORE. Fish are a dietary staple in Alutiiq communities, a food that can be harvested in abundance in summer and fall and preserved to eat through the rest of the year. Just as there are many ways to catch fish, […]
NUUNIQ – PORCUPINE / QUILL QIKERTAQ NUUNIITUQ. – THERE ARE NO PORCUPINE ON KODIAK ISLAND. The North American porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) is a large rodent found in Alaska’s forests and shrubby environments. These stout, slow-moving creatures have short legs, a muscular tail, and a thick layer of body fat. They can weigh up to about […]