Naaqtuuq Dommek
Afognak Island, Summer 2010
"There is nothing greater than to walk in the footsteps of your grandparents." - George Ramos
George Ramos is a Lingít elder, L'uknax.adí clan, from Yakutat. Before he said this to me he said, "Welcome home," as he greeted me at the airport in Yakutat. That's what this photo reminds me.
I'm not from Afognak, or Kodiak, but I was invited there with my BFE (Best Friend for Eternity) last summer to teach dance style and rhythm to Sugpiat youth. It was an honor I couldn't pass up.
We were only permitted to certain parts of the camp because the infamous Kodiak Brown Bears were always a threat, but one day we traveled as a group to another part of the small island. It was a beautiful walk. The wind was warm. The day was sweet.
This is a ciqluaq (pronounced: chick-lou-uck, with a voiceless 'l') that was built years before we got there, by another group of camp goers. We hung out in it for a bit. Thinking back on it, it's like we were taken back in time for just a brief few minutes...and that kind of blows my mind.
This is only the makeshift doorway.
If I wasn't so paranoid all the time, I'd probably had stayed a little longer :)
Ciqluaq Facts:
- Built semi-subteranean.
- Covered in sod and dirt, very incognito :)
- Housed what people in a western society would call a "extended family," composed of sisters.
- Far more energy efficient than your modern home.
- In my opinion, very comfortable :)
Just a few facts I can recall off the top of my head.
Cheerio!
I'm not from Afognak, or Kodiak, but I was invited there with my BFE (Best Friend for Eternity) last summer to teach dance style and rhythm to Sugpiat youth. It was an honor I couldn't pass up.
We were only permitted to certain parts of the camp because the infamous Kodiak Brown Bears were always a threat, but one day we traveled as a group to another part of the small island. It was a beautiful walk. The wind was warm. The day was sweet.
This is a ciqluaq (pronounced: chick-lou-uck, with a voiceless 'l') that was built years before we got there, by another group of camp goers. We hung out in it for a bit. Thinking back on it, it's like we were taken back in time for just a brief few minutes...and that kind of blows my mind.
This is only the makeshift doorway.
If I wasn't so paranoid all the time, I'd probably had stayed a little longer :)
Ciqluaq Facts:
- Built semi-subteranean.
- Covered in sod and dirt, very incognito :)
- Housed what people in a western society would call a "extended family," composed of sisters.
- Far more energy efficient than your modern home.
- In my opinion, very comfortable :)
Just a few facts I can recall off the top of my head.
Cheerio!
Aw neat cute pic :)
ReplyDeleteAhh, the vivid memories are still fresh! What an experience we all shared that week...
ReplyDeletep.s. Ciqluaq, because chicks rock! Am I right, ladies? ;)