Ahnaughuq/Amy Topkok
Uvaŋa atiġa Ahnaughuq. My Iñupiaq Eskimo name is Ahnaughuq, which means “Little Girl”. I’m named after my paternal ahna (grandmother) Katherine Koiyuk (Eningowuk) Barr of Shishmaref. My English name is Amelia Katherine (Barr) Topkok, but everyone calls me Amy. I was born in Kotzebue, and grew up there as well in Nome, Alaska. My parents are Naunauq Delano and Saumik Minnie Esther (Onalik) Barr of Shishmaref/ Kotzebue/ and Noatak, Alaska. My paternal grandparents are the late Katherine (mentioned), and the late Gideon Barr Sr. and my maternal grandparents are the late Victoria (Wesley) and the late Herbert Onalik Sr. of Noatak, Alaska. I am full-blooded Iñupiaq. I speak fluent Norwegian, little Iñupiaq, and grew up with English.
My husband Asiqłuq and I been with the Pavva Iñupiaq Dancers since 1999 in Fairbanks, Alaska, along with our three sons, Akukqasuq, Saaŋiaq Masuġnaat, and Aqituaq. I am an Indigenous Studies Ph.D. student since 2021. My other passions include sewing atikłut (plural for atikłuk), quilting, drawing, proud parent of three sons, and enjoying our tutik (grandson) Terry Sanguk Osborne.
Photo: Ahnaughuq at the Alaska Native Heritage Center in Anchorage, Alaska, visiting the center and her parents, March, 2015.
