Kissaq Kingikmiuraguqtuat

01/06/2026

Another Inuit dictionary for your Inupiaq digital library. This one from Nunavut has 2,000 terms and phrases.

Inuinnaqtun English Dictionary ᐃᓐᓇᖅᓯᐅᑎᑦ ᐅᖃᓕᒫᒐᑦAdult Books, ᐃᓕᓐᓂᐊᕈᑎᒃᓴᐃᑦ ᐊᑐᕋᔅᓴᑦEducational Resources, ᐅᖃᓕᒫᒐᑦBooks, ᐱᓕᕆᐊᕆᔭᐅᔪᑦProjects, ᓱᕈᓯᖅᓯᐅᑎᑦ ᐅᖃᓕᒫᒐᑦChildren's Books Edited by Gwen A...

01/01/2026

Kissaq.com has a page under Language Resources where you can see a table of some common words in different Seward Peninsula dialect. The group has committed to providing opportunities to capture the dialects to aid in promoting our common culture. Like this woman did for her language. I encourage you to visit the kissaq.com website, and if you haven't joined the kissaq.com Saturday sessions, it's not too late! Every Saturday at 10am AK. Message us for the link. Happy New Year! Let's all get together and Inupiraaq-raq-raq 2026! https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CPCdRpbDK/

Remarkable act of cultural preservation.

Recognizing she was the last fluent speaker of Wukchumni, Marie Wilcox, at 82, learned computer skills and dedicated seven years to creating a 6,000-word dictionary. This effort produced the first written record of the language in history.

Her dictionary documents vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation, providing future generations with the tools to study and revive the language.
It demonstrates how determination, technology, and scholarship can intersect to save a disappearing culture.

The project emphasizes the role individuals can play in preserving endangered languages.
By transforming oral knowledge into a lasting digital record, Wilcox ensured that Wukchumni would survive beyond her lifetime.

Her work stands as a testament to perseverance, innovation, and the importance of protecting linguistic heritage.

11/29/2025

Join us for some Seward Peninsula Inupiaq language practice now!

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11/29/2025

We're meeting for our weekly language class today! Join us and tell us if you felt the earthquake!

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11/22/2025

Reminder that we are meeting today at 10am to share the Seward Peninsula Inupiatun our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents spoke on a daily basis. You are cheerfully encouraged to join us. Message us if you need the link. Also, for your enjoyment -- a short inspirational video from Vice Media about the Gwichin and their language recovery work. Watch and it reply. What stands out most to you? Do you see anything they do that you think we could also do? We'll be talking about our next steps now that the Kissaq.com language resources have been launched.
https://youtu.be/Xn7mkEsxybw?si=udmbi8jItNKxO3p5

Alaska's 20 native languages are in crisis, and millennial Alaskans are calling for their revival. But many languages aren't completely cataloged, and the pa...

11/01/2025

Uvlalautaaq! Get a dose of Inupiatun and join the Kissaq Kingikmiuragutuat language group right now. If you cannot join us today, join us next Saturday at the same time.

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10/13/2025

Going to Elders and Youth today? Please be sure to look for Heidi Senungetuk's presentation on Translated Hymns at 1:30 pm. And then Debbie Atuk, Richard Atuk, Katie Bourdon, and Linda Sloan have a presentation at 3:00 pm on the main stage. Hope to see you there! Quyaana to everyone who contributed to making the presentations possible - that includes our dearly departed elders who translated the hymns we sing today, and our parents and grandparents who spoke to us in their language to teach us how to be with one another. May we all go together in a good way.

08/05/2025

Take a look at the photos from this organization. Imagine that many people attending a classroom to participate in actively reviving our regional dialects! With all the good work happening, we're on that trajectory. Keeping up with your practice -- whatever it is, will help all of us. Today we have a meeting on the development of the Kissaq application/website/database. But that is not the same thing as me practicing speaking a few words of Iñupiaq Word of the Day! Piragamausi!

Who can tell me what piraagamausi means?

06/22/2025

Re-posting this to ensure that the language workers in the Norton Sound/Seward Peninsula region know that they are seen and we support all dialects. At the time this post was put up, we were not yet working with anyone from Fish River dialect (White Mountain) and Unalakleet. At this time, we would like to recognize two specific people who have been contributing to our work: Josephine Bourdon, and her sister-in-law Katie Bourdon. Josie has created and shared many worksheets with phrases for use around seasonal activities. Katie has connected us with Kawerak Inc's Lifelong Learners -- Toby Anungazuk Jr and his wife Deborah among them. The Lifelong Learners connection expanded weekly participation to to include Fish River dialect speakers in White Mountain as well as Inupiaq speakers in Unalakleet and Koyuk. Quyana Kawerak Inc and Katie Bourdon, Josie, Toby Anungazuk Jr, Deb, and we cannot forget Amber Otton from Bering Straits School District! We're meeting every Wednesday at 4pm AK time during the summer. Message us for the link to join and Inupiuraaqtaa!

Richard Atuk and Debbie Atuk, father and daughter, are on a mission to revive Iñupiaq culture through language learning.

06/21/2025

Arigaa! Very impressive advancement in the North Slope region with language revitalization. Quyana taiku taani for the work you are doing up North! It's a model we can all get behind.

06/06/2025

We've changed our schedule to accommodate the business of summer! We will be meeting on Wednesdays at 4pm AK until further notice. If you missed last week's session, you can catch the video here! We had new attendees and we did a deep dive of some Inupiaq in the Red Book of Hymns. Send us a message or comment here if you need the link to join us next time.

Each week Richard Atuk reviews the Inupiaq dialects of the Northwest Seward Peninsula, primarily Kingikmiutun. The language cannot be separated from the hist...

06/02/2025

📣 Our Language Zoom Sessions are now on Wednesdays from 4:00 - 5:30 pm!

We hope to see you! Inupiaraaqta!