Louse — Neresta Aikut nerestangq’rtut. – The dogs have lice. Historic accounts indicate that lice were a constant plague in Native communities. These small, rapidly reproducing parasites were hard to eradicate, as people lived in tight quarters where they passed easily from one person to the next. Moreover, people wore heavy fur and bird skin […]
Backpack, Hunting Bag — Atmak, Ekgwik, Ekguiyutaq Atmangq’rtuq. – He has a backpack. Packing well for a hunting or fishing trip was as important in the past as it is today. Alutiiq men filled their kayaks with useful things: wooden containers filled with fresh food and water, sleeping blankets, and even inflated seal bladders for […]
Cigarette — Puyuruaq Puyuruanilu englumni!—Don’t smoke in my house! Tobacco was introduced to the Alutiiq by Russian entrepreneurs. Traders imported this commodity in large quantities for use as payment and provisions for Native hunters and laborers. An 1833 report on Kodiak area settlements by Vasilii Ivanovich Kashevaroff, the son of a Russian merchant and an […]
Birch — Qasrulek, Uqgwik Ikani uqgwit tak’ut. – The birch trees over there are tall. The Kenai birch (Betula kenaica) is a deciduous tree with a grey, papery bark and pointed oval leaves. The Kenai birch grows in scattered groves around the Kodiak Archipelago. It is particularly abundant near the communities of Larsen Bay and […]