Giinaquq: Like A Face
Suqpiaq Masks of the Kodiak Archipelago
"Tells the story of one of the most impressive archaeological assemblages in Alaska through seven detailed chapters that each provides contextual information to help readers understand the significance of the site itself and the artifacts that were uncovered from it. But it goes beyond this—it also tells the story of how this archaeological site and its artifacts influenced the beginning of a cultural renaissance movement on Kodiak Island."
—Nadia Sethi, The CRI Foundation
"[An] unrivaled resource. . . . As an Alutiiq raised on Afognak and Port Lions, and immersed in our Native culture, I found both pride and inspiration from the extensive collection of artifacts that fill the book."
—Victoria N. Woodward
"Interspersed with photos and essays from local elders, teachers, and researchers at the site, Kal’unek From Karluk allows readers to consider the project from multiple viewpoints and adds a personal warmth. . . . Those who love archeology, history, and Native culture will find this book to be a rare and worthy discovery."
—Alaska Magazine
"Copiously illustrated by relevant artifacts from the site. Highly Recommended."
—CHOICE
Karluk One is a remarkable archaeological site. For six hundred years, the Alutiiq built houses upon houses, preserving layer after layer of their ways of life. When fresh water from a nearby pond seeped through the deposit, the massive mound of cultural debris became suspended in time. Yet the site’s location at the mouth of a river meant it could disappear at any moment. Working together, researchers and community members recovered more than 26,000 items made of wood, bone, ivory, baleen, antler, and leather before the meandering river finally shifted and washed away the site forever.
Kal’unek From Karluk explores the site. Beautifully photographed, the book also features essays by community members and scholars and a glossary of Alutiiq terms developed for the artifacts by Kodiak Alutiiq speakers. No other collection has figured so centrally in building awareness of Alutiiq history or promoting an accurate view of the richness of Kodiak’s Native past. And no other book illuminates these extraordinary finds as brilliantly as Kal’unek From Karluk.
