Yup’ik word origins

by Peter Twitchell

I had no clue that some Yup’ik words had their origins from the Natives from Russia. Words like milk (mulukuuq), miiskaq (large bowl for making Eskimo Ice Cream or, “Akutaq”), tengmiaq (goose), qugyuk (swan), qailiq (rough water), etgatuq (it’s shallow), stuuluq (table), saskaq (cup), kelipaq (bread), luuskaaq (spoon), and maslirissuun (butter knife).

So I was told by a descendent of the Russian Orthodox of those who came to Alaska with the Russian dictionary. Russian dictionaries can be found in various villages on the Yukon and there are many other Russian loan words in Southwest Alaska.

I find it interesting and amusing at the same time. Dialects vary in our Yupiaq language from the Yukon to the Kuskokwim region.

Live and learn. It amazes me, the history of our indigenous people of Alaska.

You can look at the Time Life book “The American Indians” and read of the “common language” of Athabascan, which is still spoken today in parts of Alaska, Canada in the American Midwest. They call themselves as the Tinneh – “The People.” In time they would be known by names given to them by others: the Apache, the Navajo.

I visited Arizona in 2020 and in 2021. The indigenous peoples of the plains and deserts are friendly like the natives of Alaska. The indigenous people are spiritual people. The ground they live on is considered sacred Mother Earth and is respected as much as our ancestors in Alaska believed and respected the tundra, the air, the water. Very indigenous peoples of Arizona are much like the Eskimos of Alaska and are spiritual people.

Many indigenous people in the lower 48 were christianized by various religious faiths but still practiced traditional prayers for people who are ill and hold ceremonies for healing for them.

I did not feel like a total stranger in a strange land. I felt well received.

Very indigenous natives of Arizona struggle with poor housing, much like in Alaska. Modern day indigenous peoples in Arizona and other states can get a good education and good degrees if they work at it.