So many people ask me about the kids which is so sweet! I decided to make a little "dictionary" of things they say that are different from things I am used to. Some of the words are in their native language of Yugtun. The peoples are Yu'pik. There are only two elders left in Koliganek who can speak and understand it fluently. The kids learn Yugtun and they say the Pledge of Allegiance everyday in Yugtun after they say it in English. In Togiak, there are more elders who speak the language and all the students take Yu'pik class. Other than that, these saying or words are just things that are specific to this village. I cannot speak for any other village or the Yugtun language and culture. 

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• “Not even!” - when you say something they don’t think is true, they'll reply with this. For example, if you tell the kids they haven’t been doing work at all they’ll say, “Not even, I’ve been doing work all day!!”

• “How many” - instead of being specific, a lot of kids will just use the phrase how many instead of telling how long something actually was. For example they’ll be telling you a story about how they got hurt on their “...four wheeler how many years ago”. Usually we would guess and say about 3 years ago, but they say how many instead.

• Allah - woman who is older than them so usually their older sister, but could be anyone

• Glusna-  godparent 

• Uppa - grandfather

• Ulu - knife that is shaped like a blade and has a wooden handle 

• Akutaq - ice cream type food that is made of berries. It includes potato flakes, shortening, sugar, and oil. I like it cold with a little bit of Cool Whip on top. A lot of people like to eat it with rice too. 

• Maqii- steam room they use to wash. Some families steam everyday or every other day. They have to haul wood to light the maqii. It's a separate building from their homes that they build. They use the wood they hauled to light it and make it hot. It gets so hot that you just splash water on yourself to wash your hair and body.

• Kuspuk - a cloth piece that they wear; like a patterned shirt with pockets 

• Quyana - thank you

• “I joke” or “I fool” - they say this instead of “I’m kidding” or "I'm joking". It’s so cute; when they tell a joke or say something silly and then they say, “I joke, I joke.”

• Short pants - instead of shorts, they say short pants. They call underwear shorts. 

• “Holy cats!” - some people say this instead of “Holy cow” or “Holy crap”. 

• "Shucks!" 

• The Hairy Man - AKA Bigfoot; you better watch out for him in the woods! 

• Bum - they’ll say, "The weather is going to be bum since they sky was red this morning."

• Sno-go - snow machine

• Honda - four wheeler 

• Skiff - little boats they use in the summer to go from village to village or to hunt and fish 

• VPSO - Village Public Service Officer. Since there are no Police Officers, there is a VPSO

• Instead of saying yes, they will just raise their eyebrows

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