Native Connections to the Cosmos

Native American Connections to Space

The Kalapuya Illihi

The Kalapuya people were removed from their homeland, the "Kalapuya Illihi" and relocated to the Coast Reservations in Western Oregon.

Today the descendants of these people are members of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon and the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians of Oregon.

The Willamette Meteorite

• Came to West Linn, Oregon over 13,000 years ago.

• The largest meteorite found in the United States. It weighs over 15.5 tons!

• It is made of iron and scientists believe it used to be in the center of a planet.

Tomanowos

• Meaning "the visitor from heaven" in a now extinct native language.

• The Clackamas people believed this meteorite to be sacred

• Believed to be a representative from the "Sky people"

• The Clackamas people believed Tomanowos was a union between sky, earth, and water

Tomanowos

• The water that collected on the surface of Tomanowos was "blessed", this water could heal and cleanse.

• Tribal hunters would dip their arrowheads into the water, believing it gave them more power in their hunts.

• To this day it is a sacred piece to the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde

Multiple Choice

Using this map (click to make it larger), where was the Willamette Meteorite found? It is shown with the red mark.

• Close to Eugene Oregon

• Near Seattle Washington

• On the Oregon Coast

• Near Portland Oregon

Multiple Choice

What did the Clackamas people call the Willamette Meteorite?

• Big Rock

• The Meteor

• Tamanowos

Multiple Choice

Why was Tomanowos important to the local trbe?

• It was a fuel source

• They believed it protected them from attack

• The water collected on it was sacred and could heal them and give them power

Connection to the Moon

Many native tribes across North America used the moon to create a calendar.

Each new month began with a new moon, roughly every 29.5 days. A new moon happens when the moon is almost invisible on Earth.

First Lunar Calendars

The first recorded tracking of the moon's phases dates back to 32,000 B.C.

This recording was done on bone. Artisans scratched lines and marks onto animal bones or small stones.

This image shows the phases of the moon.

Multiple Choice

A New Moon happens every:

• 15 days

• 45 days

• Every night

• 29.5 days

Multiple Choice

A full moon and a new moon are different because:

• A full moon happens when the moon is invisible on Earth.

  A new moon happens when the moon is bright and full in the sky.

• A full moon and a new moon are the same.

• A full moon happens when the moon is bright and full in the sky.

  A new moon happens when the moon is nearly invisible on Earth.

The Kalapuya and the Moon

• They used the moon to track months and organize their calendar

• The Kalapuya calendar revolved around the growth of the camass plant

• Their calendar year begins in Autumn after harvesting the camass

The Kalapuya Calendar

This image shows the calendar used by the the Kalapuya people.

There are 12 months with their names in the native language and a description of the time relating to the camass plant.

Open Ended

Explain why it may have been important for native groups to track the Moon and keep a recorded calendar.

More than the moon

Native people took notice of many celestial objects as they moved across the sky.

Many of the stories and myths from native history tell about the stars and their formations. These same stars are seen today in modern constellations and astronomy classes.

Native Connections to the Sky

Native American people across the country have been studying the sky and space for thousands of years. Many tribes have different stories and explanations for things that happen in the sky.

The Pawnee Tribe

Located in modern Nebraska, the Pawnee tribe believe their people descended from the stars.

They refer to the night sky as the "Council of Chiefs" and they modeled their lives on Earth after the night sky.

This piece of tanned skin shows the Pawnee star chart where they mapped the stars in the sky. They used this chart to map their cities.

The Paiute Tribe

The next side will show a video telling the story from the Paiute tribe. This story explains how the North Star came to be.

Multiple Choice

The Paiute tribe believe that the North Star was once:

• The goat, Na-gah

• The tallest tree

• An old woman

Open Ended

Why would the Paiute people make a story like this?

Big + Little Dippers

In this picture you can see the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper.

They are groups of stars that form the most recognizable shapes in the night sky.

Though not constellations, they help form the constellations of Ursa Major (Big Bear) and Ursa Minor (Little Bear).

Native Connections to the Big Bear

• The Iroquois people believe the stars shows seven hunters following a bear across the sky.

• The Wasco people believe these stars are wolves, trapped in the sky during a hunt.

• The Blackfoot people believe the stars show seven brothers and their sister running from a bear.

Multiple Select

Which tribes have historical legends about Ursa Major? Check all that are correct

• The Iroquois

• The Blackfoot

• The Wasco

Stars as Navigation

So many tribes created legends around Ursa Major and stressed the importance of this star grouping because it leads them to the North Star, Polaris.

Most tribes considered the directions to be sacred: North, South, East and West.

Bighorn Medicine Wheel

In modern day Wyoming, Native groups built the Bighorn Medicine Wheel. This structure was built between 300-800 years ago and is considered sacred with many native groups.

The Medicine Wheel in Bighorn is the largest recorded, but hundreds of versions of this structure exist across North America.

Bighorn Medicine Wheel

This wheel has 28 spokes, which are believed to represent the 28 days in a lunar cycle. The medicine wheel is still used today to accurately predict the summer solstice.

Several of the rocky towers in the wheel point towards valuable navigation stars: Rigel, Sirius and Aldebaran. This makes it an incredible tool for ancient calendars.

Multiple Choice

What is the medicine wheel used for?

• To provide care for the sick

• To track herds and migrations

• To track the summer solstice

Multiple Choice

How old is the Bighorn medicine wheel?

• 100 years old

• 1,000 years old

• Between 300 - 800 years old