Suuget - People
Social Sphere
Central to the social or emotional sphere is people. In Alutiiq the word is suuget, or suk for one person. In referencing the inner spirit of all living beings, this term is used as sua or literally ‘its person,’ which further emphasizes the spiritual congruity between species and the implied spirituality for all living beings. Another word appropriate for this sphere could be imaq or water as it is a core element that sustains human life and is a central element of our island’s ecosystem. Further as the Alutiiq are also known as the ‘people of the sea,’ it stands to represent the social sphere as the water is what gives us life. For our understanding of this sphere in relation to the whole body, we can identify emotions or feelings as ellpeklluku or ‘to sense.’ This word is also closely related to the pronoun ellpet or ‘you,’ emphasizing perspective. The social sphere exists in the second sphere of the model, where three of the fourteen core Alutiiq values relate:
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Suupet (Our people or community)
“Our people: we are responsible for each other and ourselves” -
Cuqllipet (Our Elders)
“Our Elders” -
Ilaapet (Our family)
“Our family and kinship of ancestors and living relatives”
The underlying question that these value statements answer is:
Who do we build respectful relationships for and what does it mean to live together respecting our relationships rightly in the world from the Alutiiq perspective?