Alutiiq Word of the Week

Alutiiq Word of the Week

Lessons in Language and Culture

Weekly lessons on all things Alutiiq! Explore Alutiiq vocabulary and a wealth of cultural information.

Featuring the wisdom of Elders Nick Alokli, Florence Pestrikoff, Sophie Shepherd, and Victor Peterson. Hosted by Dehrich Chya, April Laktonen Counceller, Marya Halvorsen, and Michael Bach.

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This Week’s Lesson

Blocked
Photo: A foggy day at Cape Alitak, southern Kodiak Island.
Word & Sentence
Blocked — Sapurluni
Sapuraanga. – I am weathered in. (literally, “It blocked me.”)  

The Alutiiq verb sapuluku means, “to block it”: to physically obstruct something or someone. For example, you could use this word on your boat, when a very low tide kept you from traveling through a channel, or to indicate that locked doors are keeping you from gettin...

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Word of the Week Archive
Word of the week voices and advisors
From left, April Counceller, Florence Pestrikof, Sophie Shepherd, and Nick Alokli, word of the week voices and advisors, sign copies of the Alutiiq Word of the Week book, 2012.
From A to Y (accordion to yeast!), there are 679 lessons in our searchable Word of the Week archive. Learn about the Alutiiq world, practice word pronunciation, and share lessons with family and friends. Type a topic in the search box to start exploring. Developed with a grant to Koniag from the Institute for Museum and Library Services.
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Dehrich Chya records a podcast at the Alutiiq Museum.
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