Agviq

by Michael Armstrong

Masu—edible root; name for Tuttu’s grandmother and Malgi’s wife.

  Mukluk—Eskimo name for a knee-high boot made of skins.

  Naataq—gray owl (strix nebulosa).

  Nalukataq—whaling festival held each June at the end of the whaling season.

  Nanuq—polar bear (ursus martimus).

  Natchiq—common name for any seal of the genus phoca (p. largha, p. hispada, p. fasciata); Inupiaq name for Arnold’s (Kanayuq’s) brother, Marvin.

  Nivak—to dig.

  Nivakti—digger; archaeologist.

  Nuna—earth, land; derisively, dirt; Tuttu’s name for Tammy.

  Paula—literally, “soot”; Inupiaq name for Belinda.

  Piqaluyak—year-old or older blue sea ice in which the salt has been leached out; freshwater ice that can be drunk.

  Puyugruaq—steam that rises over open leads in the ice; in Russian, polynya.

  Puvak—lung; name for Amaguq’s son.

  Qaregi—dancehouse, like the iglugruaq, only much larger.

  Qavvik—wolverine (gulo gulo); name given to Tammy.

  Sigpan—stove blubber; name for John, a crony of Edward.

  Siksrik (sometimes siksik)—onomatopoeic name for arctic ground squirrel (spermophilus parryi). Also known as “parka” squirrel, for use as fur for fancy parkas.

  Sisuaq—beluga whale (delphinapterus leucas).

  Stuaqpak—Inupiaq name for the main village store in Barrow; literally, “big store.”

  Tanik—white person. Sometimes used to refer to any non-Inupiaq person.

  Taniayaaq—person of mixed Inupiaq and non-Inupiaq heritage; usually refers to someone half-white, half-Inupiaq.

  Tourley—tourist (Inupiaq slang).

  Tuttu—caribou (rangifer tarandus); Inupiaq name for Simon.

  Tuvaq—landfast sea ice, an ice shelf along the coast that has frozen nearly to the ocean bottom and is safe to walk on.

  Ugruk—bearded seal (erignathus barbatus).

  Ugrulik—kamiks made with ugruk skin soles.

  Uiniq—an open lead in the ice.

  Ukpik—snowy owl (nyctea scandiaca).

  Ulu—women’s knife, shaped like a quarter of a circle with a handle at the pointed end.

  Umialik—traditionally a boat captain; rich man (one who can afford an umiaq).

  Umiaq—boat; sometimes used to refer to an umiapiaq, an open boat made of skins stretched over a wooden frame.

  Unaaq or unaaqpauraq—a staff with a pole at one end and a hook at the other; used to probe ice and retrieve game.

  Place Names

  Ataniq—abandoned village south of Pingasagruk, at westernmost tip of Peard Bay.

  Atqasuk—village south of Barrow.

  Birnirk (Pigniq)—archaeological site north of Barrow, near the Naval Arctic Research Laboratory.

  Eluksingiak Point—eastern point of land at mouth of Kugrua Bay.

  Ipiutak (Ipiutaq)—archaeological site discovered by Froelich Rainey near Point Hope, Alaska (Tikigaq).

  Kaktovik (Qaaktugvik)—Village on Barter Island, in northeast Alaska, at the edge of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

  Kugrua River—river that flows into Peard Bay.

  Nalimiut Point—point just southwest of where the Seahorse Islands meet the mainland; on Peard Bay.

  Nulawik (Nullagvik)—hunting camp about halfway between Barrow and Peard Bay.

  Nunavak (Nunavaaq)—hunting camp between Walakpa and Barrow.

  Nuvuk—literally, “point”; old village at Point Barrow.

  Pingasagruk (Pingusugruk)—archaeological site and ancient village north of Ataniq, south of Point Franklin, on barrier island between Peard Bay and Chukchi Sea; Claudia’s site.

  Tachinisok Inlet—inlet immediately east of where the Seahorse Islands meet the mainland; due east of Nalimiut Point; hunting and fishing camp near an airstrip and DEW line tower.

  Ukpiagvik—“where the snowy owls are”; name for the general area around Barrow, including Browerville.

  Ulguniq—Wainwright, Alaska.

  Utqiagvik—“the high place”; name for Barrow, specifically the bluff area but not including Browerville. Also spelled Utkiavik (Dekin 1981), Utkiavwin (Murdoch 1892), Utkiavie (Brower 1942).

  Walakpa (Ualiqpaa)—archaeological site south of Barrow; place where Wiley Post and Will Rogers died in a plane crash in 1935.