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

Spirit
Photo: Historic ceremonial mask, ca. 1872, Pinart Collection, Châteaux Musée, France. Masks were worn during dances that called spirits to the human world.
Word & Sentence
Spirit — Sua (literally, “Its person”), Anerneq (literally, “breath”)
Caqiq tamarmi suangq’rtuq. – Something all around has a spirit.

The Alutiiq concept of a spirit is complex. Alutiiq people traditionally believe that everything in the universe—living things, objects, places, and natural phenomena like the northern lights—has a spirit or essence. This essence is characterized by its human conscience. The word <...

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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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Recording the Podcast
Dehrich Chya records a podcast at the Alutiiq Museum.
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You can also listen to the Word of the Week on KMXT Public Radio, tune into the weekly podcast on Spotify and other platforms, read lessons in the Friday edition of the Kodiak Daily Mirror, and find a new lesson each Sunday on the Alutiiq Museum’s social media.

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