Well, today is showtime...
How are you feeling about it all?
Will you be (safely) looking at the Total Solar Eclipse (TSE) or honouring this event in other ways?
According to the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, in Tkaronto, the eclipse will begin at 2:05 PM and reach a maximum coverage (99%) at about 3:20 PM, then end at 4:41 PM.
As part of my lifelong journey to honour and learn more about Indigenous Worldviews, I learned that the Navajo (Diné) First Nation views TSEs as sacred events, as shared in the video "A Time for Renewal - Navajo (Diné) Knowledge of Eclipses," produced with special thanks to Tom Tomas and Little Singer Community School, and in partnership with the Indigenous Education Institute, Exploratorium, and NASA.
"The sun is a huge part of who we are."
- Wilphina Becenti, Navajo Language and Culture Teacher
"They tell us that we came from the stars, and we also came from the sun. We were all energy at one time."
- David Begay, PhD, Navajo Astronomer
"According to our Elders...the eclipse has an effect on everything."
- Jones Benally, Diné Traditional Cultural Practitioner
"We are looking forward to the eclipse. It's gonna die, and it's gonna be reborn and in the process of that will be cleansing, and we will go through a cleansing."
- Etta Shirley, Principal, Little Singer Community School
"Traditionally, Navajos would come in from the outdoors, come into their hogans or homes and they would sit very silently in reverence. You wouldn't eat, you wouldn' it's up to the families and it's up to the individuals, and whatever they do, we respect them because they all have their own ways of reverence for this idea of the renewal of life."
- Nancy C. Maryboy, PhD, Indigenous Astronomer
To learn about other Indigenous Worldviews, check out the videos below:
"An eclipse is synonym of peace and unification."
- Laurie Rousseau-Nepton, Innue, Pekuakamiulnuatsh, from Mashteuiatsh community in Qué
"We originate from the stars, and we have something inside of us called Spirit. So we have that connection, and whatever occurs up in the sky is related to us somehow."
- Wilfred Buck, Cree Constellations Expert
"It wasn't only the Romans and Greeks that went outside and looked up at night. It was every culture. It was the Romans and Greeks who were the lucky ones who got put into school curriculum, but everybody had their connections to the stars."
- Wilfred Buck, Cree Constellations Expert
I wish you a peaceful and unifying day. 🌞🌝🌎
