About Essays
As undated publications, Essays speaks to the component of Nalliq that serves as a repository.
Essays are always current, because the featured dynamics are ever-present, and for better or for worse, move with us through the course of time.
On Paper: Validity, Writing and an Oral Tradition
“What’s your name?”
“I’m Cordelia!”
“No, what’s your Iñupiaq name?”
“Qiġñaaq.”
“ Is it on your birth certificate?”
“No.”
“Oh. So it’s not your real name.”
Oh. He doesn’t think, if it’s not in writing, that it’s real.
A Love Letter to Second Language Learners
Dear Second Language Learners,
You are some of the bravest people I know.
I Always, You Never: A Celebration of ‘Village English’
Our ways of speaking are beautiful. They sound like us. They come from somewhere.
An Open Letter to Our State and Media: Alaska Natives are not 15.7% of Alaska’s population
A common figure cited is that Alaska Native people are 15.7% of Alaska’s population. Here’s why that’s wrong.