KUKUMYARLUNI – WHISTLING PAAPUMA NIUTAAKIIKUT, “KUKUUMYARKUNACI, IIYAQ TAICIQNILUKU.” – MY GRANDMOTHER TOLD US, “DON’T WHISTLE; YOU ARE CALLING FOR THE DEVIL.” Whistling is a fun, light-hearted activity in contemporary Alutiiq communities. Children make whistles from willow branches, hunters call animals with whistles carved from green alder, and comically masked carolers travel from house to house […]
SAANIIK – SLED SAANIILILLRIAKUT QUPURAT TASKAA’IRLUKI. – WE MADE A SLED TO CARRY WOOD. Sleds are an ancient and widely used piece of technology. Designed to reduce friction, they help people carry loads over land. Sleds are common among northern cultures for travel in snow and ice, but they can also be found in warm […]
MAQIWIK – STEAM BATH MAQIWIK UQNAARLLIA. – THE BANYA WAS HOT. Alutiiq sod houses had a small side chamber designed specifically for steam bathing. This room had a low ceiling and a narrow, covered doorway that trapped steam. People carried hot rocks into the steam bath with special wooden tongs and piled them into a […]
KELUGKAQ – THREAD KELUGKANEK ATURTAARTUKUT MINGQU’AKAMTA. – WE ALWAYS USE THREAD WHEN WE SEW. Alutiiq seamstresses manufactured thread from the tendons of whales, porpoises, and seals. Thin strands of sinew were separated with the fingernails from sea mammal tendons and the resulting thread wrapped around a wooden spool. This sturdy sewing material was used to […]