Four Wheeler (all-terrain vehicle or ATV) — KaaRaruangcuk, Masiinakliitarpak Village-ni kaaRaruangcut amlertaartut. – There are a lot of four wheelers in the villages. Four-wheelers are the small, open, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) that provide transportation in Kodiak’s Alutiiq communities. Because it is both difficult and expensive to ship a full-sized car or truck to a remote […]
Kiliuda Bay — Kilutaq Suuget Kilutamen iqallugsurtaartut. – People always go to Kiliuda Bay to fish. Kiliuda is a large bay on the eastern shore of Kodiak Island with a dramatic coastline. Kiliuda stretches about 25 km into the mountainous spine of Kodiak Island and the lands around its shore are steep. The head of Kiliuda […]
Sod — Nikiiq Engluq nikiimek patumauq. – The house is covered with sod. The lush grasses of Alaska’s coastal meadows produce more than just weaving material for Native people. The thick tangles of roots, which cling to deep underlying layers of soil, were traditionally cut into blocks and used in house construction. Piles of sod […]
Clean (to be) — Perinani; Eprinani Nateq eprituq.—The floor is clean. The Alutiiq word for clean comes from the root word pere– which means to be filthy! Add a negative post base and you get perinani, to not be filthy. This verb means to be clean. It is not used for the act of cleaning, but rather […]