Atchakosuk: Ininewuk Stories of the Stars

This article written by science facilitator at the Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre and Indigenous star lore expert, Wilfred Buck, explores 'atchakosuk' – the spirit lights up above. Ininewuk (Cree) mythology posits that constellations and stars that are prominent in the northern skies are understood through perspectives that are unique to the Ininewuk. For First Nations students and Ininewuk students in particular, it is important that the ancestral worldviews related to science are reflected in First Nations education in as prevalent a manner as those associated with Greek and Roman mythology. It should be known that many people under the stars have their own interpretations and understandings of constellations and the stories associated with them. The subject matter contained herein is intended to provide students and educators associated with First Nations Education with an introduction to Ininewuk perspectives of astronomy. In this article, the Ininewuk language is in the Swampy Cree dialect.