Excavations at a 300-year-old site revealed a substantial settlement where Alutiiq/Sugpiaq ancestors focused heavily on salmon harvesting and processing. However, people were also harvesting and using a variety of resources available from the coast. This settlement was probably used most heavily during the late summer and fall when salmon resources are abundant, and perhaps into early winter. Karluk Lake was a desirable locale where families returned year after year, reusing houses and rebuilding when necessary.

Qanitiisa and her brother Iqsani are young, but they have important jobs at fish camp. There are salmon to carry, a fire to feed, plants to collect, and trash to dump. Follow these Alutiiq children as they help their parents with fall fishing and have lots of fun along the way.

While Qanitiisa and Iqsani are imagined, their world is real. Their story is set in an old Alutiiq fish camp on Kodiak’s Karluk River. Archaeologists studied the camp, and their finds provided clues about Alutiiq life three hundred years ago. Enjoy the story and then learn about the sod houses, artifacts, and animal remains that inspired this children’s story. Written by Alisha Drabek, with illustrations by Cheryl Lacy.

Did Alutiiq/Sugpiaq ancestors spend the winter at Karluk Lake? The remains of structures built almost 1000 years ago hint that settlements along the river were more than fish camps. In this far inland setting, Alutiiq ancestors built houses, storage features, and a qasgiq—a men’s house where festivals took place. 

Before big villages how did Alutiiq ancestors use Karluk Lake? Excavations in a 3,000-year-old house revealed a warm, well-built sod home with lots of fishing gear and some household items. People probably intended to return to this house for many years, but it burned down.  The fire preserved rare fragments of woven matting.