Science Briefing March 14th, 2019 Prof. Annette Lee (St. Cloud State University) The Native American Sky Mr. Kalepa Baybayan (Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai’i) Dr. Laurie Rousseau-Nepton (Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope) Facilitator: Dr. Christopher Britt Outline of this Science Briefing 1. Prof. Annette Lee, St. Cloud State University; University of Southern Queensland As It is above, it is below: Kapemni doorways in the night sky 2. Kālepa Baybayan, Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai’i He Lani Ko Luna, A Sky Above: In Losing the Sight of Land You Discover the Stars 3. Dr. Laurie Rousseau-Nepton, Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope A Time When Everyone Was an Astronomer 4. Resources Brief presentation of resources 5. Q&A 2 As It is above; it is below Kapemni doorways in the night sky Painting by A. Lee, A. Lee, © 2014 Painting by Dept. Physics and Astronomy Annette S. Lee Thurs., Mar. 14, 2019 Centre for Astrophysics 3 NASA’s Universe of Learning Science Briefing The Native American Sky Star Map by A. Lee, W. Wilson, C. Gawboy © 2012 Star Map by A. Lee © 2012 4 5 Star Map by A. Lee, W. Wilson, W. Buck © 2016 Star Map by A. Lee © 2016 One Sky Many Astronomies – Permanent Exhibit Canada Science & Technology Museum, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada 6 7 8 9 Kepler'ssupernova remnant, SN 1604 10 STAR/SPIRIT WORLD Kapemni As it is above… it is below. A Mirroring EARTH/MATERIAL WORLD 11 Tu Blue (Spirit) Woman Birth Woman Wiçakiyuha¡i Stretcher & Mourners Close up, Painting by A. Lee, © 2014 12 Doorway 13 Star Map by A. Lee © 2012 Ref. Albert Marshall, Elder Mi’kmaq Nation 14 He Lani Ko Luna, A Sky Above In Losing the Sight of Land You Discover the Stars 15 Kālepa Baybayan Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge 16 17 18 190,000 years ago 120,000 years ago 19 Mossel Bay 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 50,000 yrs. ago 28 50,000 yrs. ago 29 50,000 yrs. ago 30 Indonesia Solomon Islands Australia 31 32 Taiwan 33 34 South America to Madagascar 23,000 Kilometer 35 Lapita Pottery 36 Adze C.7727 37 38 39 Thor Heyerdahl and Kon Tiki 40 Polynesian Voyaging Society Double Hulled Voyaging Canoe Hōkūleʻa 41 Mau Piailug 42 43 44 45 Nainoa Thompson 46 47 Wayfinding • Encompasses all of the ways in which people and animals orient themselves in physical space and navigate from place to place. • Often used to refer to traditional navigation methods used by indigenous people. 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 A Time When Everyone Was an Astronomer Laurie Rousseau-Nepton, PhD Astronomer, CFHT http://www.explorecuriocity.org/portals/2/themes/skyscience/stars -cloud-watching.jpg 65 A Time When Everyone Was an Astronomer • 1890: Registration of my family as “Indian” by the government of Canada https://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/Ab%C3%A9naquis 66 A Time When Everyone Was an Astronomer Ashuapmushuan Wildlife Reserve Images Source: Laurie Rousseau-Nepton 67 A Time When Everyone Was an Astronomer • Ashuapmushuan wildlife reserve Images Source: Google map 68 A Time When Everyone Was an Astronomer Time/duration • Year = 1 Winter or 12/13 moons How old are you? = How many winter have you seen? • Counting days and distance with nights A location could be three nights away • Counting hours with the stars Image Source: Brian Brettschneider e.g. I will be back when this star touches the horizon 69 A Time When Everyone Was an Astronomer Big Dipper= spirit of the Fisher or front paddler (same as the Ojibwe) Orion = Werewolf or Steersman • The two were forming a canoe that was traveling across the winter to the summer. 70 A Time When Everyone Was an Astronomer Anthropology and the Mystery Knowledge of the stars Elders telling their stories: In 1990, an 80 year old woman of Schefferville (very recluse area in Quebec, no access to internet) was interviewed by an anthropologist with an interpreter. She was saying that her Grandmother had a much better knowledge of the stars than her. She told her many stories about the constellations and observations that were made of stars. She said that she was aware of the stellar spectra without having observed it herself. Her Grandmother was likely alive before the reservations were instated in the area. If you want to hear me telling stories about solar eclipses from the native perspective of different communities in different countries watch this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=474HOSOcM6M 71 Additional Resources • Indigenous Education Institute • “The Indigenous Education Institute (IEI) was created in 1995 as a non-profit 501(c)(3) institution with a mission to preserve, protect and apply traditional Indigenous knowledge in a contemporary setting, that of Indigenous peoples today, around the world. IEI has developed numerous projects that preserve traditional knowledge, protect the knowledge in terms of Indigenous protocol, and apply it to areas such as astronomy and other science disciplines.” 72 Additional Resources • Cultural Connections: The Northern Lights: • Lifelong learners discover the wonders and science of the aurora, or northern lights, through the perspective of Inupiat culture. The Northern Lights video, available via the website, showcases Inupiat culture and language. From the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. 73 Additional Resources • Little Singer Community School STREAM Program Expo at Birdsprings Chapter Dome: • Little Singer Comm. School elementary students presented various, award- winning STREAM projects at the Birdsprings Chapter Dome community center. The students were listened to by elders, family members, community members, and representatives from various, supportive and collaborative organizations. Participants experienced an eventful evening of community celebration. From the NASA Space Science Education Consortium. 74 Additional Resources • Exploring the Solar System: Hide and Seek Moon • An engaging way for early childhood learners to experiment with some of the tools scientists use to study objects that are very, very far away, and to learn about how cultures around the world have viewed the Moon. Especially see the Cultural Moon info sheet. From the National Informal STEM Education Network (NISE Net). 75 Additional Resources • AstroDash: • This game takes a popular game format for tweens, teens and adults (Balderdash), and changes the question categories to focus on observational astronomy, with a focus on native American, native Hawaiian, and native Alaskan cultures. This format allows for a focus on being exposed to the similarities and differences in sky stories across cultures, rather than focusing on getting the right answer. This game has been tested in libraries across the country (including with multiple indigenous populations), and our libraries recommend it for ages 13+. From the Space Science Institute. 76 To ensure we meet the needs of the education community (you!), NASA’s UoL is committed to performing regular evaluations, to determine the effectiveness of Professional Learning opportunities like the Science Briefings. If you prefer not to participate in the evaluation process, you can opt out by contacting Kay Ferrari <[email protected]>. This product is based upon work supported by NASA under award number NNX16AC65A to the Space Telescope Science Institute, working in partnership with Caltech/IPAC, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, and Sonoma State University. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. 77.