Chuda's Language

Yaht'ana ..Word for the Kenai Peninsula Dena'ina.

Kahtnuht'ana ..Term for Kenai Dena'ina.

Tahtna ..Word used to describe the Russians.

Gasht'ana ..Used to describe white people. The preferred name of the Tanaina Indians.

Dilihi ..Important smelt type fish used for both food and oil.

Qiz'in ..Razor Clams. The people of Kenai made expeditions to other beaches by boat to gather these. Usually took three or four days.

Lug'a..Salmon. The main food source of the Kenai people.

Lug'aka'a..King Salmon.. First salmon of the season. Eggs used in many ways.

K'q'uya..Red Salmon. Type of salmon caught in summer. Used for drying.

Nudlaghi..Silver Salmon. Late fall fish. Used for storing in permafrost pits.

Qu'ghu'na..Humpback Salmon (Pink).

Ts'ix.Mosquito. Always a pest near frewh water sources.

Qanchi..Porcupine. Very plentiful, easy to kill, rodent like animal.

Kazhna..Lynx. One of the favorite food of the Dena'ina. Not as common.

Dnigi..Moose. More plentiful today as they gradually replaced the caribou.

Vejex..Caribou. Once very plentiful. Hides were very useful and warm as the hair is hollow. The Kenai caribou herd was depleted. Game management and transpants have been successful in restoring the herds.

Talin..Whale. Not hunted by the Dena'ina. Whale was a delicacy and obtained by trading with the Eskimo. It was believed that the people lacked the majic to hunt whale.

Nuji..Dall Sheep. Obtained on summer hunting expeditions and by trade.

Qutsaghil'iy..Spotted seal. Hunted by the Dena'ina.

Keyinghezha ..Hump on back. Can be used to describe the part of the spawned humpback salmon eaten raw.

Shayeq..Halibut. Caught in the deep salt water.

Usdlagh.. Steelhead trout. Salmon like trout caught in fall.

Ggavila..Mussels found on rocks. Usually boiled.

Tsanagha..Sea Anemone. Once eaten by the people.

Elt'eshi..Black Bear. Best eaten in the fall. Fishy flavor in the summer. Flavor is better during the blueberry season.

Ch'nal'in..Crab. Roasted on a stick or boiled in grass basket.

Elyin..Spruce hen or grouse. Easy to catch grouse type bird. Small with meat mainly on breast. Plentiful in fall and summer.

Taza..Sea Lion. Dark fishy tasting meat. Used in many ways.

K'enuy'a.. Beaver. Dark rich pork-like meat.

Tiqun ..Wolf. Fur makes good trim on clothing. Hide does not freeze and obtain ice.

K'eh..Quill. Porcupine quills used for decoration on clothing and jewlery. Sometimes dyed.

K'eyes..Hide. Animal skins used for clothing, bedding, cooking, storing, ect.

Q'in..Fish eggs. Used for food. Dried, cooked, fermented, ect.

K'tl'ech..Fish sperm (milt). Eaten cooked or raw. Liver like texture.

Gegashla..Excellent bog blueberry. This berry is the favorite blueberry of all. It has a strong flavor. Russian word is Keekashla so who copied who? Similar pronunciation .

Ts'igek'a..Blueberry. It has more seeds than the bog blueberry and the fruit is larger.

Nquikegh..High Bush salmonberry.

Ts'enlt'ida..The Alaskan wild rasberry. It contains more flavor than a domestic raspberry.

Nughuya nqitl'a..Small low growing red berry. Sweet but difficult to find an abundance of.

Hey gek'a..Lingonberry found in Alaska. This berry is also found in Scandinavian and Russian countries. Excellent flavor and a good keeper. Can be stored for winter best if picked before the first frost. A type of Bog Cranberry.

Dghilingek'a..Crowberry. Small black cranberry looking berry. Sweet with white flesh.

Eltsuntsa..Highbush Cranberry. Excellent cooked and srained but has an acrid odor. High in Pectin.

Licheq'a gek'a..Watermelonberry. Red berry shaped like a cucumber. Similar in flavor to watermellon. Full of seeds.

Tash'i ..Wild rhubarb type of plant.

Qilch'exa..Nettles are a spinach like plant.

Qinazdli..Wild rice from the bulb of the chocolate lily.

Uh..Fiddlehead fern that can be eaten summer or the spot marked and the roots dug in the winter.

Ndalk'edi..Edible coltsfoot.

El'egen..Medicine man or Shaman.

Q'egh duhen ..The midwife who was used until the 1950's when doctor were more readily available.

Chuda..Grandma.

Unkda..Term for mother.

Tukda..Term for father.

Chada..Grandfather.

Ahtnu ..The Kenai River.

Ts'ah ..The thread made from animal sinew for sewing.

Nitsexi..The awl used for sewing.

Qayeh..Term for village where the people live.

Neli..Steambath.

Dehq'a..The storage cache for food.

Chuqilin q'a..The underground cache for storing fermented fish.

Vava..Dried fish.

Dash..Sandbar in the river.

Ken..Flat. Many berries grow in the flats so it can be a good place for hunting.

Daz'i..Fire.

Heyi..Winter

Chix..Ochre paint used for painting oneself.

Dghaznigi..Cache.

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