Language celebration honors Alutiiq Elders (fwd)

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Language celebration honors Alutiiq Elders

Article published on Monday, November 7th, 2005
By ANDREW WELLNER
Mirror Writer
http://www.kodiakdailymirror.com/?pid=19&id=2261

The Kodiak Senior Center played host to the Alutiiq Language Council’s
Alutiiq Language Celebration and Elder Honoring Saturday.

Approximately 50 people turned out to eat a potluck dinner, win door
prizes and to celebrate the Alutiiq language.

April Laktonen, Alutiiq language manager at the Alutiiq Museum, played
master of ceremonies for the event.

She said the event comes before meetings to discuss the ongoing language
program.

With .05 percent of the Alutiiq population of Kodiak fluent in the
language, “we’re basically at the most extreme state of language loss,”
Laktonen said.

The language program, which matches a native-speaking Elder with an
apprentice, is a part of the “process of trying to revitalize our
language,” she said.

At the potluck, organizers drew winners for a raffle the group had
organized this fall to raise money for the program. Laktonen announced
that, in addition to tickets sold that night, the raffle generated
$6,000.

Also at the dinner, the program honored Alutiiq Elders with roses — pink
for women and yellow for men.

A single rose, Laktonen said, “doesn’t mean much in itself but it
represents the respect and the affection we have for our Elders.”

Without the Elders, she added, “we wouldn’t have a language.”

The group also took the opportunity Saturday to present certificates of
appreciation to various organizations which have supported the program.

The evening ended with a performance by the Alutiiq Language Singers and
a presentation about Kodiak’s delegation to the World Indigenous
People’s Conference on Education.

Mirror writer Andrew Wellner can be reached via e-mail at
awellner at kodiakdailymirror.com.