The Tamamta Liitukut Project Administration for Native Americans (ANA) Grant was awarded to The Sun’aq Tribe for the next 5 years (2016-2021). The project’s mission is to serve young children to experience Alutiiq as a living language and its end goal is to develop a culturally-relevant Kodiak Alutiiq immersion language nest for preschool-aged children with outreach services for all age groups.

In addition to creating a new Alutiiq Language Nest to round out the Kodiak Alutiiq language education services available, this project will develop a community engagement and recruitment campaign, strengthen elementary and middle school language outreach, and provide supportive services for high school and college level Alutiiq language students to promote Alutiiq conversation among families.

The development of culturally relevant early childhood Alutiiq language immersion education is an important part of developing future speakers of the language—carrier of our culture, self-identity and well being. We seek to increase family and community motivation and capacity to speak Alutiiq together. Each day is a celebration and experience in sustaining the many ways of speaking the Alutiiq language of this place we call home. Alutiiq is the language of this place. Though Alutiiq is not a global or economic language, it is one of the world’s languages.

To our Elders and our families, it is the language that expressed the values and knowledge of their people and best describes this place in the world that we call home. Alutiit’stun Niuwawik serves as a place of celebration where culture, self-identity, and wellbeing develop our most significant asset – our children.  Learn more about the Alutiit’stun Niuwawik by visiting the Tamamta Liitukut Kodiak Alutiiq Language Project Facebook page or by calling the project’s teachers at 512-5995.