It’s spring! All over Alaska there are signs of summer’s imminent arrival. Birds are returning from their long winter journeys, people are getting ready to fish, biologists are making final field preparations, and kids are squirming in their seats eager to be released from school. For our part, seabird camp planning is well underway, supply lists are being assembled, orders placed, the schedule finalized, and we are practicing our Unangam Tunuu bird names!
We found some on the Qagaadam Tunuu app (available as an Apple app and through Google Play) but also discovered that some seabirds were missing. We teamed up with Janelle Melovidov-Baker to fill in some gaps.
Learning and using the language of a place helps to strengthen cultural and spiritual connections to the land and sea, as well as maintain and transfer the knowledge that language carries. Below are her recordings for the names of the missing birds. Enjoy!
Slukax Glaucous Winged Gull
Agaluuyax Parakeet Auklet
Agayuux Red Faced Cormorant
Kunuugyux Crested Auklet
Aaglux Northern Fulmar
Chulikax Rock Sandpiper
Sakitax Thick Billed Murre
Thank you to Janelle for sharing her knowledge and these translations with us. Thank you to Aquilina Lestenkof and the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island for encouragement and help facilitating these translations. And, thank you to the World Wildlife Fund for their support with this project.