Alutiiq

The Alutiiq people (pronounced /əˈluːtɪk/ in English; from Promyshlenniki Russian Алеутъ, "Aleut"; plural often "Alutiit"), also called by their ancestral name Sugpiaq (/ˈsʊɡˌbjɑːk/ or /ˈsʊɡpiˌæk/; plural often "Sugpiat") as well as Pacific Eskimo or Pacific Yupik, are a southern coastal people of the Native peoples of Alaska. Their language is called Sugstun, and it is one of Eskimo languages, belonging to the Yup’ik branch of these languages. They are not to be confused with the Aleuts, who live further to the southwest, including along the Aleutian Islands. At present, the most commonly used title is Alutiiq [sg] Alutiik [dual] Alutiit [pl]. However, these terms derive from the names (Алеутъ Aleut) that Russian fur traders and settlers (in 1784 Awa'uq Massacre) gave to the people from the region. But, the ethnonyms of Sugpiaq-Alutiiq are a predicament. Russian occupation began in 1784 with the brutal massacre of a large number of Sugpiat at Refuge Rock (Awa'uq) just off the coast of Sitkalidak Island near the present-day village of Old Harbor (Nuniaq). The Sugpiaq term for Aleut is Alutiiq. All three names (Alutiiq, Aleut, and Sugpiaq) are used now, according to personal preference.