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Programs

Alutiiq Foods Project

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Linda Mullan cooking on Raspberry Island, Courtesy Juney Mullan.

Kaigtuten? Are You Hungry?

A scatter of broken clamshells hints than an octopus is hiding under a nearby rock. Seal intestines should be rinsed with salt water before stuffing. Eating fatty king salmon can interfere with the effectiveness of some plant medicines.  These are examples of the cultural knowledge about wild foods preserved in Alutiiq people.  Through Neq’rkat: The Alutiiq Wild Foods Project the Alutiiq Museum is exploring the knowledge of Kodiak's most experienced wild food harvesters and cooks to document, share, and perpetuate tribal subsistence traditions.

Although wild foods are well known on Kodiak, many younger people have little experience harvesting, processing, or preparing these foods. Moreover, there are few records of Alutiiq food traditions. Through a series of videotaped interviews and community events, the Alutiiq Museum will explore and document the use of 12 widely available wild foods.  The process will capture fading subsistence traditions, particularly little recorded knowledge of food processing and preparation.  Project videos will help the museum develop a short video on each food, a recipe booklet, and a page for the museum’s website.  These resources will share Alutiiq food traditions with the community and promote the perpetuation of healthy, culturally valued subsistence practices.

Please contact Public Outreach Coordinator Danielle Ringer for more information.

Photo:  Linda Mullan cooking on Raspberry Island, Courtesy Juney Mullan.

 

Traveling Traditions

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Larsen Bay students making masks in 2003

Sharing Heritage in Rural Schools

Every year travel to Kodiak's rural communities to explore Alutiiq artistic traditions. Artists accompany staff members to work with students, who complete their own projects with inspiration from ancestral designs and modern experience. The program debuted in 2001 with lessons on grass basket weaving and has continued with lessons in wood carving, fish skin sewing, steam bending, kayak building, and antler working. In 2013, students will create and emborider a caribou skin garment with each community sewing a part. This project is a partnership with the in partnership with the Kodiak School District.

 

 

 

2013 Workshop Schedule:

Akhiok: March 25-29
Larsen Bay: April 8-12
Old Harbor: April 15-19
Port Lions: April 22-26
Ouzinkie: May 6-10

For more information please contact Public Outreach Coordinator Danielle Ringer, 486-7004, x22.
 

Traveling Traditions 2013 generously supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Maes Fulford and Family, Kodiak Island Borough School District Enliven Program, Port Lions Tribal Council, Larsen Bay Tribal Council, the Kodiak Island Housing Authority, Dr. Gordon Pullar, and the Native Village of Afognak.

 

Community Archaeology

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Join

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     Alisha Blondin with a slate lance from Salonie Mound

Do you like working outdoors?
Can you imagine the distant past?
Is the thought of findind ancient tools thrilling?
Have you ever wanted to be an archaeologist?
Are you an Indiana Jones fan?
 

If the answer to any of these questions is YES!, the Alutiiq Museum’s Community Archaeology program may be just right for you.  Join museum archaeologists in an exploration of Kodiak’s past, unearth stone tools, study animal bones, reveal sod houses, and learn about the remarkable history of the Alutiiq people.

Community Archaeology invites volunteers to work as members of an archaeological field crew, studying Kodiak prehistory with professional researchers.  Scientists and community members excavate sites near Kodiak threatened by erosion, vandalism ,and development, working together to preserve unique pieces of Kodiak’s past.  This is a chance to explore prehistory with the pros, to experience the past in new ways, and to challenge yourself.  Participants can earn college or high school credit.

 

Click the tabs above to explore this popular program, open too all people 14 years and older.

 

April Counceller excavates at the Outlet Site

Modern archaeology on Kodiak is not like the movies - but it does require an adventurous spirit. Rain, bugs, and lots of dirt are part of the daily experience of our volunteers. But if you do mind wearing rain gear and having the charcoal of ancient campfires under your finger nails, and if beautiful scenery, new friends, and unique discoveries sound exciting, then you will enjoy Community Archaeology.

Who knows what's you might find . . .
 

What I  have learned working for the museum was to be patient (it’s always okay to work slowly) and ask questions on what we found in the excavation. I had also learned that these people in the past were very smart to build the houses that had lasted for many years, and knew what kind of materials to build with and how to keep warm during the fall and winter seasons.

-Tristan Kewan, 2004 site intern

Dig



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Muddy excavators at work at Zaimka Mound
 
Each year the Alutiiq Museum chooses a site to study near the city of Kodiak, and gains permission from the landowner for research.   Then, volunteers work beside professional archaeologists – removing sod and volcanic ash falls with shovels and exploring the layers of ancient camp sites with hand held digging tools – trowels and dust pans. Every excavator works in their own square to preserve information on the location of artifacts in the site.  No previous experience is necessary.  We will show you what to do.  We ask that all volunteers spend a full day at the site on their first day, for training.  After that volunteers are welcome for a half day.

 

Find

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Shawn Biessel screening

 Participants dig with anticipation, wondering who will be the next to unearth an ancient object. It might be an artifact – a delicate chipped stone point or a lance blade ground from slate. Or, it might be an animal bone, the remains of a fish or seal. Small objects are hard to see in the dirt, so participants sieve all the dirt they remove to find tiny objects.
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Debbie Staggs uncovers a 6,000 year old hearth
 Not all finds are objects. One goal of the program is to study structures – the houses, sheds, pits and hearths that also record past activities. Excavator work to uncover these larger finds, so they can be mapped and photographed.

Record

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Mapping at Zaimka Mound
 Mapping the archaeological finds is a chance for instruction. Participants help the archaeologists plot the dimensions of features uncovered in the site and record the depth of each layer with surveying instruments. Students and interns must also keep notebooks describing field methods, finds, and interpretations.

 

Preserve


 

 


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Bronwyn Lyman holds portions of a slate lance
 
There are more than 900 prehistoric archaeological sites in the Kodiak region, and ever year, vandals damage some through recreational digging and artifact collecting. These illegal activities are stealing Alutiiq history and disturbing sites so they cannot be meaningfully studied. Community Archaeology provides the public with the opportunity to experience archaeology in a positive way. Many of our volunteers become long-term supporters of historic preservation – and some go on to study archaeology.

Collections from the project are loaned to the Alutiiq Museum for study by their owners.  At the museum, volunteers assist archaeologists in washing, organizing, cataloging and storing the objects, so they can be studied and displayed. 

 

Learn


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Excavators begin work at Bruhn Point
overlooking Womens Bay
Over the past 15 years, the Community Archaeology program has studied eight sites in the greater Womens Bay region, adding to our knowledge of Alutiiq prehistory. Together these sites are helping us to understand how Alutiiqs used different environments – the banks of the Buskin River, the windy water around Cliff Point, the islands at the eastern entrance to Chiniak Bay, and the quiet inner bay. They also show us how Alutiiq communities changed over time.

 

2013


Carmen Ceron at the Amak Site, 2011

WHERE IS THIS SUMMER'S DIG?
Community Archaeology 2013 will take place atthe Kashevaroff Site, at the head of Womens Bay.  Students and volunteers are invited to an organizational meeting about the program on Thursday, July 18th at 7:00 pm in the Alutiiq Museum gallery.

WHEN CAN I WORK?

Participants should plan to spend one full day at the dig on their first visit.  Half days can be scheduled after a day of training.


WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?
This project is free and open to the public. Any one age 14 or older may participate. Please call the museum to reserve a spot, as space is limited. Group tours of the excavation are also available. To reserve a space on the excavation for a day, a week, or more, or to arrange a tour, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (486-7004, x22).
 

CAN I PARTICIPATE IF I AM NOT FROM KODIAK?

Yes. The museum is happy to include out-of-town volunteers. However, we do not provide assistance with housing, transportation, or other necessities like food, showers, and laundry. Out-of-town volunteer must plan to be self-sufficient.

Excavations at the Amak site, 2011

WHAT DO I BRING?
Warm layers of clothing, rain gear, rubber boots, a hat, gloves, bug spray, sun screen, a bag lunch, and a water bottle. We’ll provide the digging gear.  No firearms are permitted.

HOW DO I GET THERE?
Participants meet daily at the Alutiiq Museum to carpool to the site.  Volunteers may drive their personal vehicles to the site.
 

WHAT WILL I DO?
Participants will assist museum archaeologists with every aspect of the excavation, from digging and mapping to screening dirt and carrying buckets. Wear old clothes. You will get dirty!

ACADEMIC CREDITS
Each summer, the Alutiiq Museum offers Community Archaeology participants the chance to earn high school or college credit for participating in the excavation through the Kodiak Island Borough School District and Kodiak College, a branch of the University of Alaska Anchorage . Graduate student credit can also be arranged. Click here to learn more about earning academic credits.

 

Thanks!

Jill Lipka in a circle of stones
uncovered at the Amak site, 2011

Quyanaa!

Our thanks to the many organizations, volunteers, students, interns, and museum staff members who have helped to make community archaeology a great success.  Program supporters have included:

Kodiak Historical Society Baranov Museum
Kodiak Island Borough
Kodiak Island Borough School District
Koniag, Inc.
Leisnoi, Inc.
Natives of Kodiak, Inc.
U.S. Coast Guard Communication Station Kodiak
University of Alaska Fairbanks


 

 

       

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