AMIIK – DOOR AMIIK PATUMAUQ – THE DOOR IS CLOSED. Alutiiq people once entered their sod houses through low, narrow passageways—or entrance tunnels. The door to this tunnel was about a three feet square and usually faced the nearest waterway. A piece of seal or sea lion skin tied to the posts framing the […]
QAUGLUK — EYEBROWS ILAIT QAUGLUTUTAARTUT.— SOME EYE BROWS ARE LONG. Faces are a common subject in Alutiiq sculpture and graphic art. Petroglyphs, paintings, incised drawings, masks, dolls, and other carvings show both human and animal faces. In all these mediums, artists use a distinctive design—a connected nose and brow motif. A straight line symbolizes […]
SULUNAQ – SALT FISH SULUNAQ PITURNIRTAARTUQ. – SALT FISH IS ALWAYS TASTY. For centuries, people around the world have enjoyed salted fish. The interaction of salt and fish enzymes creates a wonderful flavor, especially in cod. Salt is also an effective preservative. It limits the growth of bacteria. Fishermen working in both the Atlantic […]
QULIYANGUAQ – STORY QULIYANGUA’UCIIKAMKEN. – I WILL TELL YOU A STORY. Among societies without a written language, storytelling is one way to record history. People pass family accomplishments, survival techniques, and social values from generation to generation through each other rather than books. Alutiiq people often embellished stories with drawings or transformed them into […]