Suumacirpet Audio

Unguwallriat—Animals

Alutiiq people harvest animals to care for their families. Animals provide meat and fat for food and materials for tools and clothing. Living off the land is an ancient tradition. Alutiiq people hunt and fish with knowledge passed down over thousands of years an understanding of animal behavior, awareness of the weather, and carefully honed harvesting skills. Relying on wild resources is more than subsistence, it is suumacirpet–our way of living. Lena Amason’s painting, When We Were Seals, capture many of these animals.

Animal Words

Match the animal in the painting with its number below to see and hear its name in Alutiiq.

1. Gull–Qatayaq
2. Shearwater–Qatayaruaq
3. Swan–Qugyuk
4. Cormorant–Agasuuq
5. Chiton–Uriitaq
6. Duck–Saqul’aaq
7. Loon–Uyaqurtuliq
8. Puffin–Tunngaq
9. Northern Fulmar–Qatayaq
10. Bald Eagle–Kum’agyak
11. Fox–Kaugya’aq
12. Brown Bear–Taquka’aq
13. Ground Squirrel–Qanganaq
14. Gray Whale–Arwaq; Ar’uq
15. Orca–Arlluk
16. Sea Otter–Arhnaq
17. Octopus–Amikuq; Utguiq
18. Harbor Seal–Isuwiq
19. Sea Lion–Wiinaq
20. Halibut–Sagiq
21. Dolly Varden Trout–Anciq

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22. Capelin–Iqalluarpanguaq
23. Herring–Iqalluarpak
24. Salmon Shark–Arlluguaq
25. Mussel–Qapilaq
26. Cod–Amutaq
27. Clam–Mamaayaq
28. Cockle–Qahmaquq
29. Sea Urchin–Uutuk

These are just a few of the animals Alutiiq people harvest. A team of researchers at Boston University studied the animal remains found in ancestral settlements and created a list of 90 species represented. See the whole list and learn more about the study of animal remains by downloading our poster.

Suumacirpet—Our Way of Living Poster

Produced with support from Boston University and the Kodiak Island Borough School District READ project.