KUMITGAQ – BEACH FLEA / JUMPING JACK TAQUKARAT KUMITGARTURTAARTUT. – BEARS ALWAYS EAT JUMPING JACKS. Beach fleas are a common resident of Kodiak’s coast, from the intertidal zone to the ocean depths. There are many varieties of these tiny crustacea adapted to different environments. Some like brackish water and live in lagoons. Others prefer […]
NUNA A’ULALUNI – EARTHQUAKE NUNA AULAKAN ALINGNARTUQ. – IT IS SCARY WHEN THE LAND SHAKES. The Kodiak Archipelago lies at the juncture of two major tectonic plates, enormous pieces of the earth’s crust that are continually colliding. Here rock formed on the ocean floor is scraped off the Pacific plate as it slides beneath […]
QUNGUQ – GRAVE AATAMA QUNGUA NUNIAMI ET’UQ. – MY FATHER’S GRAVE IS IN OLD HARBOR. Death in classical Alutiiq society was a forty-day process of passing into the spirit world. When a person died, their body was washed by relatives and wrapped in skins. These were often old boat covers, or for wealthy individuals, […]
NASQULUT – BULL KELP NASQULUT TAK’UT. – THE BULL KELP ARE LONG. Bull kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) is a variety of seaweed with a long, hollow stem attached to a bulb with trailing leaves. This plant grows abundantly in Kodiak’s nearshore waters and has a one-year life cycle. Microscopic spores emitted in the fall live […]