Susan Malutin
A lifelong member of the Kodiak community, Susan Malutin is from Alutiiq families with roots in Afognak and Ukamok (Chirikof Island) villages. Susie has been learning Alutiiq for over 10 years with master speakers Sophie Shepherd, Dennis Knagin, and Kathryn Chichenoff. Susie is also a self-taught master skin sewer who has dedicated as much time and effort searching for information on ancestral skin sewing as she has spent documenting and learning Alutiiq words and phrases in an effort to understand how her great grandmothers worked skins and shared knowledge. Learning from master speakers of the Northern style of Koniag Alutiiq has made Susie a valuable store of Northern style Alutiiq words, phrases, and pronunciations.
"Here is beautiful, it is. Particularly the rain. I like the rain when everything is done in the house and I'm in there sewing. That's peaceful. That's what I enjoy. Aa'a, asirtuq."
"Here is beautiful, it is. Particularly the rain. I like the rain when everything is done in the house and I'm in there sewing. That's peaceful. That's what I enjoy. Yes, it is good."
Kodiak, Alaska