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Indigenous Astronomy as told by the Haudenosaunee: Filling your spirit with stardust and astronomical knowledge

Date
November 04, 2024
Time
1:00 PM EST - 6:30 PM EST
Location
CUI-317, 44 Gerrard St E
Open To
All students, faculty and staff
Contact
Brooke Filsinger brooke.filsinger@torontomu.ca
Celestial bear made from stars in night sky

 

The Faculty of Science in collaboration with the Indigenous Students Association presents:

Indigenous Astronomy as told by the Haudenosaunee: Filling your spirit with stardust and astronomical knowledge

Presented with a portable planetarium, these sessions will take you on an introspective journey through Haudenosaunee Cosmology - from creation to current innovations, perseverance, and the cycles of life and death that correlate with the stars.

Samantha Doxtator is an Oneida Nation member of the Wolf Clan. She says Haudenosaunee people have always been astronomers and scientists, and their constellations and moon cycles inform their ways of being.

Samantha recently accepted the gift to continue the work and research on Haudenosaunee Astronomy by her sister Sasha who passed in July 2021. Sasha's passion for infusion of Indigenous Knowledge and Science in Education will continue to be remembered. This presentation has been referred to as medicine by many Communities and aligns with Sam's intentions to help heal with astronomical knowledge and nurture Ukwehuwe brilliance. 

Sessions:

1:00-2:00 pm Indigenous Astronomy with Samantha Doxtator (inside the planetarium)

2:30-3:30 pm Indigenous Astronomy with Samantha Doxtator (inside the planetarium)

4:00-5:00 pm Indigenous Astronomy as told to the Haudenosaunee (outside the planetarium)

5:30-6:30 pm The Celestial Bear Show (inside the planetarium)

**Seating within the Planetarium is very limited - registration is required for each session**

The Celestial Bear: The Six Nations’ Night Sky

The Indigenous legend tells the story of several brothers and their dog, who chase a magical bear across the land and into the sky, where they become stars. The hunters and dog are represented by the stars of the handle of the Big Dipper, and the bear by the stars of the cup.

This show retells this story, using recordings of Cayuga and Kanyen'kéha (Mohawk) intermingled with live narration in English and imagery projected on the planetarium’s domed screen. The use of Cayuga is significant as this endangered language is only spoken in the Six Nations community, where there are fewer than 40 fluent speakers.

This event is part of Indigenous Education and Treaties Recognition Week at TMU

From November 4 to 8, Indigenous Education and Treaties Recognition Week will take place across the TMU campus, featuring educational panels, hands-on workshops, entertaining events and more. TMU students, faculty, staff and community members are invited to participate in programming to better understand the unique and diverse experiences of Indigenous Peoples in Canada, as well as treaty rights, treaty relationships and their relevance today. Indigenous Education and Treaties Recognition Week is just one facet of the larger work towards reconciliation, for which we are all responsible.

This event is wheelchair accessible

The university is committed to the accessibility and inclusion of persons with disabilities. If you require any additional accessibility accommodations to ensure your full participation, please let us know on the registration form or email Brooke Filsinger, Advisor to the Dean, Indigenous Education, Faculty of Science, at brooke.filsinger@torontomu.ca

For presentations within the planetarium, attendees will be seated on cushioned mats. We will have a limited number of chairs for guests who are unable to sit on the floor. Please reach out if you have specific questions or accommodation requirements.

Questions?

If you have any questions, please contact Brooke Filsinger, Advisor to the Dean, Indigenous Education, Faculty of Science, at brooke.filsinger@torontomu.ca.