Description
The Alutiiq people, also called by their ancestral name Sugpiaq, as well as Pacific Eskimo or Pacific Yupik, are one of eight groups of Alaska Natives that inhabit the southern-central coast of the region. Their traditional homelands date back to over 7,500 years ago, and include areas such as Prince William Sound and outer Kenai Peninsula (Chugach Sugpiaq), the Kodiak Archipelago and the Alaska Peninsula (Koniag Alutiiq). In the early 1800s there were more than 60 Alutiiq villages in the Kodiak archipelago, with an estimated population of 13,000 people. Today more than 4,000 Alutiiq people live in Alaska.
Language
The Alutiiq language (also called Sugpiak, Sugpiaq, Sugcestun, Suk, Supik, Pacific Gulf Yupik, Gulf Yupik, Koniag-Chugach) is a close relative to the Central Alaskan Yup'ik language spoken in the western and southwestern Alaska, but is considered a distinct language.
Culture
Alutiiqs have long thrived on the rich resources of the coast, harvesting quantities of sea mammals, fish, shellfish, birds, and of plants. These resources fed our ancestor’s families for thousands of years and provided resources for all the necessities of daily life. In late prehistoric times, Alutiiq people lived in sod houses, known as ciqluaq (barabara in Russian). These dwellings were built partially underground and had a driftwood frame, plank walls covered with sod and a thatched roof. Women gathered bird eggs, shellfish, seaweed and other edible plants, roots and berries for food. They also cleaned and dried fish and constructed and maintained the kamleikas, waterproof garments stitched of marine mammal intestines.