EAGER: Documenting Gwich'in indigenous astronomy

University Of Alaska Fairbanks Campus, Fairbanks AK

Investigators

Abstract

This EAGER project under the direction of PI Gary Holton takes advantage of a unique opportunity to assess the feasibility of documenting indigenous astronomy in Alaska and Canada. Although astronomy is a fundamental component of all Alaska Native cultures, there has so far been no systematic effort to document indigenous knowledge of the Alaskan sky. Rapid change in traditional land use has led to this astronomical knowledge being even more endangered than the indigenous languages themselves. In this pilot project we focus on Gwich?in, the most viable of Alaska?s Dene (Athabaskan) languages. Extrapolating on more than a year of archival research, the project will work with culture bearers in the Alaska Gwich?in region to document Gwich?in terminology for starts, constellations, and astronomical events. The project will coordinate closely with work in progress with Canadian Gwich?in being conducted under the auspices of the Gwich?in Social and Cultural Institute. Finally, the project will seek to corroborate the existence of several major cosmological themes, which permeate Northern Dene languages. The primary project deliverable will be a report describing Gwich?in knowledge of the sky, along with star charts localized to the Gwich?in region. These materials will be made available through the Alaska Native Language Archive to be used by both scholars and educators. In addition to linguist Holton, project participants include Leslie McCarthy, Curator of Oral History at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and Chris Cannon, graduate student and astronomy educator.