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.


This Week’s Lesson

Aleut Town
Photo: Aleut town, Afognak Village, ca. 1962. Chadwick Collection, AM528.
Word & Sentence
Aleut Town — Nasqualek
Cuumi suuget Nasqualegmi etaallriit. – People used to live in Aleut Town.

Afognak Village grew from a pair of neighboring towns—Russian Town and Aleut Town. These small communities were built about a mile apart on the western shore of Afognak Bay. At the south end of the area lay Rutkovsky village, also known as Russian Town or Derevnia. Established about 1830...


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.
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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