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Iqyax

"Iqyax" is the name of the traditional Aleut kayak style. It is more commonly known by its Russian name, baidarka, which comes from an indigenous Siberian word for "boat" and was used by Russian explorers to refer to any kind of native boat. Other Aleut names for this kind of house include iqyaq and iqya

The iqyax was made of a light wooden frame with a sea lion skin cover stretched over it, and was propelled and steered with a wooden paddle. Originally, each Aleut hunter paddled his own iqyax, but after guns were introduced by the Russians, they began using larger two-man kayaks, because an iqyax was so light that the recoil of a gun would capsize it without a second paddler to keep it steady.

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Here are links to our webpages about the Aleut tribe and language:

Aleut language
Aleut history
Aleut tribe
Aleut words
Aleut language pronunciation
Eskimo-Aleut languages
Alaska Indian tribes

Here are a few good books about the Aleuts:
Aleut Identities: Tradition and Modernity
Aleut Dictionary
Aleut Tales and Narratives

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