NUNA – VILLAGE GUANGKUTA NUNARPET. – THIS IS OUR LAND. When Russian traders arrived in the Kodiak Archipelago, there were more than sixty Alutiiq villages. Rows of sod houses formed coastal communities that were home to as many as three hundred people. Chiefs governed villages, acting as political and economic leaders. Russian accounts suggest […]
ING’IQ, INGRIQ – MOUNTAIN ING’IT PATUMAUT ANIUMEK. – THE MOUNTAINS ARE COVERED WITH SNOW. Some of Kodiak’s most beautiful features are its rugged mountains. Carved by glacial ice over the past hundred thousand years, these mountains are a continuation of the Kenai Peninsula’s Chugach Range and part of the dramatic belt of coastal peaks […]
ARHNAQ – SEA OTTER ALLRINGUQ ARNAQ MAANI PILITAARTUQ ARHNAT AMIT ATURLUKI. – THERE IS ONE WOMAN HERE WHO MAKES THINGS USING SEA OTTER SKINS. Hunted nearly to extinction during the historic era, the sea otter (Enhydra lutris) is now a common sight in Kodiak waters. These playful mammals live in nearshore colonies where they […]
ARILLAQ – STEAM CAINIIK ARILLARTUQ, KALLAQUTARTUQ. – THE KETTLE IS STEAMING. IT’S GOING TO BOIL. The traditional Alutiiq steam bath, commonly known by its Russian name banya (a form of sauna), remains important for bathing, socializing, healing, and spiritual cleansing. In a low-roofed shed heated with a woodstove, bathers splash hot rocks to create […]