The Pleiades Experience

The Sun, Moon, planets, and stars have accompanied sky watchers over millennia. The Pleiades star cluster, observable from every continent except Antarctica, is tied to Indigenous worldviews, astronomy, calendaring, traditional weaving, weather prediction, and agriculture. For the original peoples of Polynesia, Mesoamerica, and the Andes, the Pleiades cluster continues to be a source of knowledge, both culturally and scientifically. Due to native language loss and globalization, the knowledge is eroding at a fast pace. I will describe results of a Fulbright U.S. Global Scholar collaborative research project conducted in ancestral lands with Indigenous elders, young adults, and academics, as well as with other knowledge holders in Aotearoa/New Zealand, Guatemala, and Peru. Results are being shared locally for the benefit of the host communities and future generations.

Our Speaker: Isabel Hawkins, Ph.D. Astronomer and Senior Scientist, Exploratorium, San Francisco