The total solar eclipse April 8 is not only a major event for U.S. citizens but a time for Indigenous communities like the Navajo, Cherokee and Pueblo people to honor an event that’s rooted in tradition and stories passed down from time immemorial.
A total solar eclipse is when the moon will be positioned between the Earth and the sun, completely blocking sunlight and casting a shadow on the earth. For a few moments it will turn dark depending where on the Earth the shadow is being cast.
This year the eclipse’s path of totality, where a full eclipse is visible, and partial path will be covering the eastern half of the U.S. According to NASA, it will be the last total solar eclipse visible from the contiguous U.S. until August 2044.
Kevin Belin, director of the Diné Bizaad Institute at Navajo Preparatory School in New Mexico, said there are three different interpretations for eclipses for the Navajo people. One is “the sun is going to die,” “the moon and sun will mate” and the most common and neutral interpretation is “the sun and moon have come over each other.”
The sun and moon have significance in Navajo culture. The sun bearer carries the sun disc across the sky every day and oversees death that occurs during the day, specifically those who die traumatically or those who don’t cherish or value life. The moon bearer is in charge of those who die during the night, those who die a compassionate death.
There’s also a difference between the meanings of lunar and solar eclipses for Navajo people. Lunar eclipses are thought of as a time of blessings and solar eclipses are thought of as a time of protection.
During eclipses Navajo people must stay indoors, with closed windows and doors, and not look outside, limit consumption of food by fasting, not drink water, not sleep, not bathe, brush hair or groom themselves, no intimacy with families or partners, exception between mothers and children. Arts and crafts during solar eclipses are not allowed. Lightly cleaning or remote work at home is allowed.
Belin, Navajo, said long ago those who didn’t have access to the internet or social media only knew about eclipses if they were part of some astrological society where they keep track of events like eclipses.
“However, because of technology we can accurately tell when the event is going to be at its highest. Generally, like our grandparents would have only observed the most visual part of the time. But for me, because I know that it starts at, let’s say, it starts at 11:59 a.m. and it ends at 4:32 p.m., I’m going to highly observe during that time,” he said.
Technology also adds more awareness for other traditionalists if there’s a need to observe the eclipse even if it’s not happening over Navajo land and is occurring somewhere else in the world. Most believe it still counts and observe the eclipse.
While other non-Indigenous or non-Navajo students will be watching the eclipse outdoors like teachers at the Lamplighter School in Dallas who are arranging the entire pre-K through fourth-grade student body to see it, Noemi Waight, a professor at the University of Buffalo, said she has encouraged her future science teacher students to incorporate how culture shapes the way people experience an eclipse.
“This is important for our teachers to understand,” she said. “So when they’re teaching, they can address all of these elements.”
As an educator, Belin tries to emphasize that learning about your traditions takes time. It’s important to learn from mistakes and move forward.
“Knowing your population, student population, and knowing their cultural backgrounds is something every educator and administrator should know. If you don’t know this you’re going to come a lot upon resistance and tension,” Belin said.
At the Diné Bizaad Institute at Navajo Preparatory School they’re having no school and will give the students an opportunity to observe it. Belin said they will educate the students about the event but will not force the students to comply if they don’t want to or even ask if they observe it to avoid defensiveness from students who may not.
“For culturally responsive strategies for Diné students, not all students are going to participate or they’re not going to understand the importance of this practice but those students that have the spark to learn, now is the time to educate them and show them those resources,” Belin said.
Paul Begay, a Navajo cultural adviser for a tour company, plans to quietly sit at home in Page, Arizona. Begay said he was taught from a young age that deities are responsible for creation starting with the first man and first woman, who traveled through four worlds.
In general it’s advised not to stare directly at the sun during a solar eclipse — even through sunglasses, binoculars or telescopes — or through a phone camera lens as the sun’s rays can damage it. It’s recommended to wear eclipse glasses from a reputable vendor. If you don’t have eclipse glasses, you can make a pinhole projector using household materials or look underneath a shady tree and observe crescent shadows from the eclipse.
The best places in the U.S. to see the solar eclipse are in Texas, Arkansas, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Maine from noon to 2:30 p.m. local time.
Other Indigenous communities have stories and traditions
The Cherokee Phoenix reported that the story goes that before it was known as an eclipse, Cherokee people would see the sun or moon slowly disappear from the sky and as it would dim, it was believed a giant frog, or walosi, was eating the sun or the moon. To bring it back, the Cherokee people would make a lot of noise to scare the frog away and restore balance.
“Cherokees would go outside and make a lot of noise by doing things like banging rocks together, shaking shells and shouting to scare the frog away,” Cherokee Nation citizen Roy Boney said in the Cherokee Phoenix. “When Cherokees got guns and firecrackers, those were added to the mix.”
Sequoyah National Research Center Assistant Director and Archivist Erin Fehr, through research, has learned about what the eclipse means to different tribes.
The Kumeyaay tribe in southern California has lore that the sun and moon were once lovers but were not able to marry because it would throw life off balance, so to stay separate, the sun stayed awake during the day and the moon stayed awake at night.
“When the eclipse happens, they have stolen time together and then they break apart after just a few minutes,” Fehr said.
The Ho-Chunk in Wisconsin believe eclipses of both the sun and moon should be respected because it is a time of transformation.
The Hopi in Arizona believe an eclipse is a time to pray and for ceremony, such as presenting traditional sacred names.
The Taos Pueblo in New Mexico view the eclipse as “a bad thing, not as this great phenomenon of ‘let’s go out and buy glasses and have a party,” RaeNita Lujan, manager of the Indian Education Program at Taos Municipal School, said to Taos News. She declined to discuss the pueblo’s traditions about the eclipse.
The Klamath, Modoc and Yahooskin-Paiute people have eclipse-related stories too. GeorGene Nelson, director of the Klamath Tribes’ language department, in southern Oregon shared the story of how the eclipse is a grizzly bear trying to eat the moon. Meanwhile, a frog jumps on the moon and the moon decides to keep the frog as his wife so she can chase away the bear. The frog ends up married to the sun, too.
“Our people used to gather when these eclipses started happening … calling for the frog to come,” Nelson told The Associated Press. “When the eclipse is over with, then that’s the frog being successful in chasing the grizzly bear.”
In Oklahoma, Chris Hill, a cultural specialist for Native American programming in Tulsa Public Schools said his tribe, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, has a unique story surrounding eclipses.
The story he grew up with was that a rabbit being chased by a little boy transformed into a “little person” and offered the boy three wishes. After food and friends, the boy asked for shade. So, the little person lobbed cornmeal at the sun, covering it, and proclaimed the moon and sun have been brought together. The little person then teaches the boy a “friendship dance.” The eclipse symbolizes that friendship.
“During that time of the eclipse, we all pay homage, we all get silent. We all basically don’t do anything during that time. But we also prepare medicines for that time, too,” Hill said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story
The total solar eclipse April 8 is not only a major event for U.S. citizens but a time for Indigenous communities like the Navajo, Cherokee and Pueblo people to honor an event that’s rooted in tradition and stories passed down from time immemorial.
A total solar eclipse is when the moon will be positioned between the Earth and the sun, completely blocking sunlight and casting a shadow on the earth. For a few moments it will turn dark depending where on the Earth the shadow is being cast.
This year the eclipse’s path of totality, where a full eclipse is visible, and partial path will be covering the eastern half of the U.S. According to NASA, it will be the last total solar eclipse visible from the contiguous U.S. until August 2044.
Kevin Belin, director of the Diné Bizaad Institute at Navajo Preparatory School in New Mexico, said there are three different interpretations for eclipses for the Navajo people. One is “the sun is going to die,” “the moon and sun will mate” and the most common and neutral interpretation is “the sun and moon have come over each other.”
The sun and moon have significance in Navajo culture. The sun bearer carries the sun disc across the sky every day and oversees death that occurs during the day, specifically those who die traumatically or those who don’t cherish or value life. The moon bearer is in charge of those who die during the night, those who die a compassionate death.
There’s also a difference between the meanings of lunar and solar eclipses for Navajo people. Lunar eclipses are thought of as a time of blessings and solar eclipses are thought of as a time of protection.
During eclipses Navajo people must stay indoors, with closed windows and doors, and not look outside, limit consumption of food by fasting, not drink water, not sleep, not bathe, brush hair or groom themselves, no intimacy with families or partners, exception between mothers and children. Arts and crafts during solar eclipses are not allowed. Lightly cleaning or remote work at home is allowed.
Belin, Navajo, said long ago those who didn’t have access to the internet or social media only knew about eclipses if they were part of some astrological society where they keep track of events like eclipses.
“However, because of technology we can accurately tell when the event is going to be at its highest. Generally, like our grandparents would have only observed the most visual part of the time. But for me, because I know that it starts at, let’s say, it starts at 11:59 a.m. and it ends at 4:32 p.m., I’m going to highly observe during that time,” he said.
Technology also adds more awareness for other traditionalists if there’s a need to observe the eclipse even if it’s not happening over Navajo land and is occurring somewhere else in the world. Most believe it still counts and observe the eclipse.
While other non-Indigenous or non-Navajo students will be watching the eclipse outdoors like teachers at the Lamplighter School in Dallas who are arranging the entire pre-K through fourth-grade student body to see it, Noemi Waight, a professor at the University of Buffalo, said she has encouraged her future science teacher students to incorporate how culture shapes the way people experience an eclipse.
“This is important for our teachers to understand,” she said. “So when they’re teaching, they can address all of these elements.”
As an educator, Belin tries to emphasize that learning about your traditions takes time. It’s important to learn from mistakes and move forward.
“Knowing your population, student population, and knowing their cultural backgrounds is something every educator and administrator should know. If you don’t know this you’re going to come a lot upon resistance and tension,” Belin said.
At the Diné Bizaad Institute at Navajo Preparatory School they’re having no school and will give the students an opportunity to observe it. Belin said they will educate the students about the event but will not force the students to comply if they don’t want to or even ask if they observe it to avoid defensiveness from students who may not.
“For culturally responsive strategies for Diné students, not all students are going to participate or they’re not going to understand the importance of this practice but those students that have the spark to learn, now is the time to educate them and show them those resources,” Belin said.
Paul Begay, a Navajo cultural adviser for a tour company, plans to quietly sit at home in Page, Arizona. Begay said he was taught from a young age that deities are responsible for creation starting with the first man and first woman, who traveled through four worlds.
In general it’s advised not to stare directly at the sun during a solar eclipse — even through sunglasses, binoculars or telescopes — or through a phone camera lens as the sun’s rays can damage it. It’s recommended to wear eclipse glasses from a reputable vendor. If you don’t have eclipse glasses, you can make a pinhole projector using household materials or look underneath a shady tree and observe crescent shadows from the eclipse.
The best places in the U.S. to see the solar eclipse are in Texas, Arkansas, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Maine from noon to 2:30 p.m. local time.
Other Indigenous communities have stories and traditions
The Cherokee Phoenix reported that the story goes that before it was known as an eclipse, Cherokee people would see the sun or moon slowly disappear from the sky and as it would dim, it was believed a giant frog, or walosi, was eating the sun or the moon. To bring it back, the Cherokee people would make a lot of noise to scare the frog away and restore balance.
“Cherokees would go outside and make a lot of noise by doing things like banging rocks together, shaking shells and shouting to scare the frog away,” Cherokee Nation citizen Roy Boney said in the Cherokee Phoenix. “When Cherokees got guns and firecrackers, those were added to the mix.”
Sequoyah National Research Center Assistant Director and Archivist Erin Fehr, through research, has learned about what the eclipse means to different tribes.
The Kumeyaay tribe in southern California has lore that the sun and moon were once lovers but were not able to marry because it would throw life off balance, so to stay separate, the sun stayed awake during the day and the moon stayed awake at night.
“When the eclipse happens, they have stolen time together and then they break apart after just a few minutes,” Fehr said.
The Ho-Chunk in Wisconsin believe eclipses of both the sun and moon should be respected because it is a time of transformation.
The Hopi in Arizona believe an eclipse is a time to pray and for ceremony, such as presenting traditional sacred names.
The Taos Pueblo in New Mexico view the eclipse as “a bad thing, not as this great phenomenon of ‘let’s go out and buy glasses and have a party,” RaeNita Lujan, manager of the Indian Education Program at Taos Municipal School, said to Taos News. She declined to discuss the pueblo’s traditions about the eclipse.
The Klamath, Modoc and Yahooskin-Paiute people have eclipse-related stories too. GeorGene Nelson, director of the Klamath Tribes’ language department, in southern Oregon shared the story of how the eclipse is a grizzly bear trying to eat the moon. Meanwhile, a frog jumps on the moon and the moon decides to keep the frog as his wife so she can chase away the bear. The frog ends up married to the sun, too.
“Our people used to gather when these eclipses started happening … calling for the frog to come,” Nelson told The Associated Press. “When the eclipse is over with, then that’s the frog being successful in chasing the grizzly bear.”
In Oklahoma, Chris Hill, a cultural specialist for Native American programming in Tulsa Public Schools said his tribe, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, has a unique story surrounding eclipses.
The story he grew up with was that a rabbit being chased by a little boy transformed into a “little person” and offered the boy three wishes. After food and friends, the boy asked for shade. So, the little person lobbed cornmeal at the sun, covering it, and proclaimed the moon and sun have been brought together. The little person then teaches the boy a “friendship dance.” The eclipse symbolizes that friendship.
“During that time of the eclipse, we all pay homage, we all get silent. We all basically don’t do anything during that time. But we also prepare medicines for that time, too,” Hill said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story