Sky Stories

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	Introduction Astronomy Basics The Sky, The Stars, and You Ways of Looking Inside Astronomy Sky Stories

Sky Stories

Indigenous peoples have passed down, from generation to generation, stories about the sky that serve as moral, ethical, and practical guides.

The indigenous names of and stories about particular stars vary from place to place, depending on where people see the sky, and what time of year it is. Indigenous astronomy is different from western science. It can make us think about things we usually just accept without question by showing us that there is more than one way of thinking about nature.

Indigenous peoples believe that, with the Ancestors, they have a responsibility for the whole of nature, helping to care for it.

indigenous australians

Aboriginal names and stories about particular stars vary from place to place in Australia. Stories from the coastal areas are mostly about fishing because that is the main food source, while stories from the central desert are more often about birds, hunters or tribal heroes. For example, near the coast the Southern Cross is often represented as a giant sting ray being pursued by a shark (the two Pointers) but in the Central Deserts it is often described as the foot print of a giant eagle.

Glen Farmer Ilortaminni, Taparra the Moon Man. Natural ochers on linen, 71X85cm. | © Glen Farmer Ilortaminni.

The Seven Sisters - Orion and the Pleiades

This is a story about a group of women, their dingoes, and the hunter who chases them.

Amongst the Pitjantjatjara people of the western desert in Australia the constellation depicts women, and a man chasing them. The women are called the Kungkarungkara and they keep a pack of dingoes as protection against the man Nirunja who is also a hunter and who chases them across the desert. Nirunja catches one of the women (the faint star in the Pleiades) but he is still not satisfied. Eventually the women turn into birds and fly into the sky to escape from him. But even then, he defies their dingoes and follows them across the sky where he can be seen, with his spear, in the stars of Orion's Belt pursuing the Pleiades. The Pleiades appear in the dawn sky in autumn, which is the time of year when dingoes mate, so the Pitjantjatjara people sing the story and perform fertility dances for the dingoes.

This story tells of the dangers of living near the Australian coast where there are often tropical storms.

At Yirrkala, on the coast of Arnhem Land in Australia, Orion and the Pleiades are associated with the dangers of living near the coast where there are often tropical storms and cyclones. There, the constellation of Orion is said to be a canoe full of fishermen while their wives, the Pleiades, are in a second canoe. All have arrived from another land further east. On their way the men caught a turtle and the women two large kingfish, but as they were nearing the shore, a heavy storm overturned the canoes and drowned all the people who have now become stars to warn later generations of fishermen. The two canoes, the men and women, the turtle and the two fish (adjacent clusters of stars in the Milky Way) are all visible in the sky for the whole of the wet season. In its basic form this legend carries a warning against the dangers of fishing at a time of sudden storms, but in north-eastern Arnhem Land the local story also has a moral message: the fishermen are drowned as a punishment for catching the kingfish, which their tribe is traditionally forbidden to eat.

WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that the following material may contain images and voices of deceased persons.

Learn more about Pleiades and Orion.

The Evening Star and the Morning Star - The Planet Venus

The planet Venus is often thought of as a star - the first one to appear at night (so it is often called the Evening Star) and the last one to fade in the morning sunlight (so it is also called the Morning Star). Because of this, the planet has been part of the legends of many different cultures. It was also an important sign to the Aboriginal people of Australia, who arose at dawn to begin their hunting or fishing. They usually thought of it as a girl.

This story features the Morning Star who lives on the Island of the Dead.

In a story from Arnhem Land (in the far north of Australia) the Morning Star is named Barnumbir and she lives on an island called Bralgu, the Island of the Dead. Because she was so bright, her people often asked her to come out in their boats when they went fishing in the early morning, so that they could see better. But Barnumbir was so afraid of drowning that she always refused to go with them on the sea. Finally two old women of the tribe solved the problem. They tied a long string around her waist so that they could pull her back to Bralgu and keep her safe in a woven basket during the day. Because she is tied to the string she cannot rise very high in the sky and always keeps near the horizon - as Venus does. In the bark painting Barnumbir is pictured as a shining light tied by a string to the woven basket on the Island of the Dead.

In Arnhem Land, because of this connection with the Island of the Dead, the morning star is an important part of the ceremony for the dead. It is represented by a totem stick to the top of which is tied a cluster of white feathers or down, denoting the shining star, and long strings ending in smaller bunches of feathers to suggest the rays. The spirit of the dead person is believed to be conducted by the star to its last resting place on Bralgu.

Venus | © NASA / JPL.

Learn more about the planet Venus.

The Milky Way

Nearly all Indigenous Australians thought of the Milky Way as a river in the sky. The big stars in it were fish and the small stars were lily bulbs (also good for food).

Learn about the tribal hero Priepriggie, famous for his songs and his hunting ability.

In Queensland the Aboriginal story about the Milky Way featured a tribal hero called Priepriggie. He was as famous for his songs and dances as for his hunting. When he sang, the people danced to the rhythm until they dropped with exhaustion and declared that if Priepriggie wished he could make even the stars dance. One morning Priepriggie got up very early, before anyone else was awake, to go hunting. Far away from the camp he found a tree full of flying foxes hanging down asleep from the branches. Although they are small, they make a tasty meal when there is nothing bigger, so he speared the largest one to take home. Unfortunately it was the leader and the rest of the flying foxes awoke and descended upon Priepriggie in great anger. As punishment, they carried him up to the sky.

Back at the camp, his people woke up but could not find Priepriggie. After searching everywhere in vain they decided to perform his dance in the hope that he would return and join them, but they found that without his singing they could not remember the rhythm or keep in time. When evening came they were still shuffling around, all out of step and despairing of ever remembering the traditional songs and dances. Suddenly they heard faint singing coming from the sky. As the song grew louder and the rhythm stronger, they began to get into step and remember the song. Then the stars, which had been scattered across the sky without any pattern or order, also began to twinkle and dance to Priepriggie's song. Gradually they arranged themselves in a wide, glittering ribbon across the sky - the Milky Way. So the Milky Way reminds them constantly that the tribal hero should be celebrated with the proper ceremonies and that they should never forget these traditional songs and dances.

Half a billion stars are represented in this panoramic view of the Milky Way seen edge-on, from within. The Small and Large Magellanic Clouds, two neighboring galaxies, appear as faint smudges in the lower right. | © 2MASS (2 Micron All Sky Survey) / CALTECH / MIT.

Learn more about the Milky Way.

The Sun

Amongst the Murray River people of South Australia the origin of the sun is linked to the tossing of a giant emu egg into the sky where it struck a heap of dry wood and burst into a golden flame, the colour of egg yolk, bringing light to what had formerly been a dark world. The Great Spirit Baiame, seeing how much the world was improved by this flood of golden sunlight, decided to re-light the woodpile each day.

The Sun is a Sky Woman who has her camp in the east. Each morning she wakes up and lights a bark torch that she will carry across the sky during the day.

Early in the morning, Sky Woman decorates herself with crushed red ochre. Some of this ochre falls as dust, coloring the sky and clouds pink; hence the sunrise. Her daughter wants to come with her but the Sun Woman always refuses, because two suns in the sky would be so hot that they would set the country on fire. By evening the Sun Woman has traveled to the western edge of the world. Here she renews her body paint, producing the glow of sunset before starting on her long journey under the earth back to the east. In some stories she changes into a wallaby and hops through a long underground tunnel. While she is traveling under the ground, her bark torch warms the earth and makes the plants grow.

Like many stories, this one points to the close connection between the sky and the earth.

The Sun. | © NASA / Extreme UV Imaging Consortium.

Read more about the Sun.

The Moon

Because the Moon grows from a new moon to a full circle and then appears to die back to almost nothing, he is associated with both fertility (producing new life) and death. There are also many stories that try to account for this waxing and waning of the Moon.

Hear about the Moon Man, and the tragedy that befalls his family.

The people of Milingimbi in Arnhem Land in Australia believed that at the time of creation the Moon Man, Alinda, had two wives who each gave birth to a son. One day when the wives were out gathering roots and berries, Alinda sent the boys out to catch some fish for him. The boys went down to the lagoon but they could not find any fish. However, they did catch a whistling duck. Being very hungry, they quickly decided that, since they had not actually been asked to bring home a duck, they could eat it themselves and not tell their father. When they returned home and their father asked for fish they said they hadn't caught any. However, he noticed the duck grease on their fingers and asked them how it came to be there. Fearing a punishment they refused to admit catching the duck. Alinda, who was also hungry, was furious. He pushed them into a carrying bag which he tied up and loaded into his canoe. Then he paddled into the centre of the lagoon and dumped the boys overboard.

When Alinda got home the wives asked where their sons were. Alinda said they had gone hunting and would return at evening. When the boys failed to come home for a meal their mothers became suspicious. They followed the tracks of Alinda and the heavy bag he had dragged along beside him to the edge of the water, and they soon worked out what had happened. Filled with grief and rage they ran and set fire to the hut where Alinda was sleeping, rejoicing at his cries of pain as he burned to death. But, even as they watched, the women saw his body come to life again as a thin crescent which slowly grew into a large sphere and climbed into the sky. From there Alinda announced that from that time the whole of the creation would die, and once dead, would never live again - except for himself. He would die for three days each month but would always come to life again. At full moon the Aboriginal people point to dark marks across his middle - the scars from the burns he received in the hut.

The Moon's many disguises.

The formation of a ring or halo around the Moon usually indicates to Aboriginal people in Australia that rain is coming and the ring is interpreted as the Moon-man building a shelter around himself as protection before the downpour. The Tiwi people of Melville Island believe that a ring around the Moon shows the Moon-man is taking part in a kulama ceremony such as they themselves perform: the ring is the circle of heaped-up earth around the ceremonial ground and inside it the star people are dancing and singing the kulama songs just as the Tiwi are doing. This story points very clearly to the unity of earth and sky, where the same rituals and orderly procedures are being followed.

There are other characteristics of the Moon which are also explained in stories. An eclipse of the sun is usually interpreted as indicating that the Moon Man is uniting with the Sun Woman. Aboriginal peoples in coastal areas ofAustralia noted the connection between the phases of the Moon and the movements of the tides. At Yirrkala in Arnhem Land and on Groote Eylandt, the Aboriginal people believe that the high tides, running into the Moon as it sets into the sea, make it fat and round again. On the other hand, when the tides are low, the water pours back into the sea from the full moon which then shrinks to a thin crescent.

Gravity holds the Moon in orbit around the Earth. | © NASA / U.S. Geological Survey.

Learn more about the Moon

The Southern Cross

The Southern Cross is a constellation specific to the southern hemisphere consisting of four bright stars placed as if at the points of a cross.

A tree flies into the sky to become the Southern Cross.

There are many legends in Aboriginal cultures of Australia about things that are not permitted, such as eating certain foods or marrying people who might be too closely related. In these stories the characters who do not obey the rules are punished. Sometimes the good characters are turned into stars to remind the people of what they should do. In one such story the Great Spirit Baiame created two men and a woman and taught them what plants to eat and how to dig for roots. Baiame also told them not to kill animals. But when a drought came and the plants died, the woman tried to persuade the men to go and hunt an animal for food. One man agreed and went off to kill an kangaroo but the other man refused to eat any of Baiame's creatures. He went off into the desert and fell exhausted beneath a white gum tree. While he slept, the Yowi, spirit of death, reached down and dragged him up into the tree, disturbing two white cockatoos that were nesting there. Then the whole tree flew up into the sky to form the Southern Cross. The four stars of the Cross are said to be the eyes of the man and the Yowi, while the Pointers are the two cockatoos trying to fly back to their home in the gum tree.

The Southern Cross. | © Centre of the Universe (CU).

Read more about the Southern Cross.

The Magellanic Clouds

These two small galaxies seen from the southern hemisphere are the Aboriginal camps of an old man and woman.

For small nomadic bands of people who depended so much on each other for survival, it was very important that people obeyed the rules of the community. As well as providing stories about food, the stars feature in many stories about the correct way to behave. In one such story the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds are the camps of an old man and an old woman, who are too old and feeble to catch their own food. The space between the two is their cooking fire. In the story the younger star people catch fish and lily bulbs in the sky river (the Milky Way) and bring them to the old couple to cook. The nearby bright star Achernar represents their meal. So when the Magellanic Clouds appear in the sky, the story is told - or sung - and everyone is reminded to care for the old people and their needs.

the anishinabe of central north america

In our Anishinabe culture, only our "stargazers", some of whom are known as the Wabeno-innin, the "Morning star Men" or "The Men of the Dawn", are privileged to have a full knowledge of the Sky world. Much of their knowledge is sacred in nature and is used only under special circumstances associated with religious matters.

But there are many well-known stories of the Sky world which are told for the lessons they offer about our relationship to all creation. To this day, such stories are remembered and told by respected storytellers in our communities. In the summertime when the plants are awakened and the animals are roaming about, we cannot talk about these things, as they might hear us say something that could offend them. We can speak of these things only in the winter when the spirits are resting.

Learn about Grandfather Sun, Grandmother Moon, and Mother Earth.

According to the teachings of the Anishinabe culture of central North America, the first of all the mothers, Nokomis or Grandmother Moon, dwells in the heavens near her daughter, Mother Earth. From there, Nokomis keeps watch over her children, gently leading them through the night. Mother Earth nourishes and cares for all her children in the plant, animal, and human worlds. Just as life comes from Mother Earth, it returns to her, completing the circle of life. Each day, Grandfather Sun, the "one who brings morning", gives light and warmth to his children. Together, Mother Earth and Grandfather Sun provide the gift of life to all. The heartbeat of Mother Earth is echoed in the drumbeat of the Anishinabe. Even Wolf, who sings to the Moon, bids us not to forget our beginnings with Nokomis, our Grandmother.

Kiwetinanang, the Guardian North, brings winter and old age. \| The Manitoba Museum		Wapananag, the Guardian of the East brings new life, rebirth and healing with the sunrise and the beginning of a new day. \| The Manitoba Museum

Zhawananang, the Guardian of the South, brings regeneration, nourishment, and warmth. \| The Manitoba Museum		Ninkape-anang, the Guardian of the West brings wisdom and aging. \| The Manitoba Museum

The Sun. | © NASA / Extreme UV Imaging Consortium.

Gravity holds the Moon in orbit around the Earth. | © NASA / U.S. Geological Survey.

Earth. | © NASA

The Seven Daughters of the Moon and Sun - The Pleiades

Seven sisters ignore their father's instructions and descent to Earth in a basket.

The Anishinabe of Central North America believe that seven sisters ignored their father's (the Moon's) instructions and descended to Earth in a basket to dance and sing when their father was "low in the sky." On one of their visits, one of the young women was captured by a human being and fell in love with him. The couple was taken to the Sky world in a basket lowered to Earth by the bride's sisters. While Grandfather Sun disapproved of the marriage, out of his love for his daughter he permitted the couple to visit on Earth from time to time. As for the remaining sisters, Grandfather Sun sent them to live further from the Earth, and to this day, they can hardly be seen.

One storyteller from the Fort Alexander Reserve in Manitoba, Canada, has explained the seasonal appearance and disappearance of the Pleiades with the story of seven children who loved to dance and play.

According to the Anishinabe of Central North America, seven children loved to dance and play, rather than help their parents in camp. The children's mother went to seek advice on this problem and was told to place stones on their food. It was hoped that the children would appreciate the value of hard work if they were forced to remove the stones from their food before they could eat it. Unfortunately, this plan did not work. One day, the children danced so hard, they danced up into the sky where they can be seen to this day. Although you can clearly see them in the winter, they cannot be seen in the summer. It is believed that during the summer months, when ceremonies and dances are being celebrated by humans, the children join them, returning to the heavens with the onset of winter.

To the Anishinabe, the Pleiades is also known as the "Hole in the Sky" and is closely connected with religious beliefs.

The seven daughters of the Moon and the Sun. | The Manitoba Museum

One of the seven children that loved to dance and play. | The Manitoba Museum

One of the seven children that loved to dance and play. | The Manitoba Museum

Sometimes, especially in the later stages of a star's infancy, a few remaining wisps of nebula reflect the light of their stellar offspring: These are known as reflection nebulae. | Robert Gendler © 2002

The Fisher - Part of the Big Dipper

The story of Fisher is unusual because most Anishinabe stories about the Big Dipper describe it as a Great Bear. The Fisher is a small fox-sized animal related to the weasel.

Fisher was a great hunter. He lived in the winter world with humans, birds, and other animals. Many times the winter was so severe that they would run out of food.

The Anishinabe of Central North America say that many animals perished from the cold and the lack of food during winter. One day he decided that their only hope was to go to the summer world and bring back the warm weather. But the villagers and animals of the summer world were not willing to share summer, so Fisher called all the winter animals and birds together to discuss what should be done. Muskrat, who lived between the two seasons, was the only one that knew summer was hidden on a faraway island. In the centre of this island, there stood a lodge and on the wall of this lodge, hung the bag of summer. No one could get near it, for it was closely guarded by Sandhill Crane and Frog. Even when all the summer creatures went out to hunt, these two guardians always stayed behind. If anything was seen approaching the island, all the hunters jumped into their canoes to go and see what it was. It would be extremely difficult for the winter animals to obtain the bag of summer.

A plan was created, and the time came for Fisher and his friends to make their move. Owl flew towards the lodge where Crane and Frog sat guarding their precious treasure. Owl landed and peeked inside to see where the bag was hanging. Next, Muskrat was sent to gnaw the hunter's paddles to the breaking point. The strongest swimmer of all the long-legged animals, Caribou, started to swim towards the island. As soon as the hunters spotted him, they jumped into their canoes and began paddling towards him. Caribou swam as fast as possible away from the island until the paddles broke and the hunters were stranded on the lake. Caribou then doubled back in to the lodge, catching Frog and Crane by surprise. He quickly grabbed the bag and ran until he met the winter animals. They took turns carrying the secret bag of summer into their world. When the summer animals finally drifted to shore, they began to track the winter animals to recover their secret bag of summer, finally catching sight of Fisher, who was now carrying the bag. Fisher took to the trees to flee from the summer animals, but he could not climb high enough to escape the hunter's arrow, which struck him.

The arrow took him clear into the dark northern sky, along with the secret bag of summer. Ever since that time, the summer and winter animals have agreed to share the seasons. Each would have six months of winter, and six months of summer.

The Creator knew that Fisher wanted to protect his friends from starvation and death, so he prevented Fisher from falling to Earth and placed him among the stars. Every year, Fisher crosses the sky. When the arrow strikes him, he rolls over onto his back in the winter sky, and when winter is almost ended, he turns over onto his feet and starts out once more to bring warm weather back to Earth.

Such teachings remind us that the harmonious survival and well-being of all creation is dependent upon the sharing and respect for the Great Laws of Nature.

Animation of the Fisher story

The animals of the Winter World. | The Manitoba Museum

The animals of the Summer World. | The Manitoba Museum

On the wall of this lodge, hung the bag of summer. It was closely guarded by Sandhill Crane and Frog. | The Manitoba Museum

Story telling around a campfire. | The Manitoba Museum

The hunters jumped into their canoes and began paddling. | The Manitoba Museum

The shared world that is both summer and winter. | The Manitoba Museum

The Big Dipper is part of the constellation called the Great Bear. You can see the dipper shape in the top part of the image.

Learn more about the Big Dipper

The Bear - Part of the Big Dipper

A long time ago, there were no stars. There were only two moons and the sun. There was a young boy, named Little Bear, who lived with his grandfather. His father was Big Bear, who lived in the Sky world.

The Anishinabe tell this story about Little Bear. One night as he sat around the fire with his grandfather, Little Bear asked about the two moons, "I wonder if anyone lives on those moons? Why do we have two moons when one is enough?" Grandfather placed an offering of tobacco, given to him by his grandson, into the fire in honour of and respect for the spirits. Then Grandfather began to tell Little Bear about the two worlds, each with one moon. "Long ago, we shared the sun with the other worlds, as everything was equal and people lived in harmony with each other. In time, things began to change and evil soon took over the world. The good people fled and came to our world, but the evil followed. Evil tried to control our lives and our world, so our people prayed to the Creator for help. The Creator took pity on us and sent the evil people back to their world, far away from the sun. He took away their moon and left them in darkness. The Creator then told our people that one day a child would come who would have the power to make a place in the sky for all of us. After his task on Earth was finished, the child would be given a special place in the heavens beside his father, Big Bear."

Little Bear was fascinated and he could not forget this story. One night he had a dream about his bow and arrow. The dream disturbed him very much. The next morning, Little Bear asked his grandfather the meaning of the dream.

Grandfather did not reply for a long time. Finally he said, "Noshins, you must prepare yourself for what is to come. Neither you nor anyone can change what is destined for you."

One day, Little Bear felt compelled to go to the big hill which stood outside his village. Picking up his bow and arrow, he kissed his grandfather good-bye and began to climb to the highest point on the hill. Little Bear stood up tall and with his arrow, took careful aim, at the brightest of the two moons. With all his strength, he pulled back on the bowstring as far as he could. When he released it, the arrow sailed into the sky and hit the Moon. There was an enormous explosion and the Moon shattered, like broken glass, into millions of pieces. Little Bear was stunned when he saw the sky filled with new stars. It was at this moment that he realized the meaning of his dream. For the last time, he looked down at his grandfather's lodge and whispered: "Good-bye, Grandfather."

The excitement he felt made his heart beat faster and faster as his spirit rose up into the sky towards the stars and his father.

Both Fisher and the Bear take their place in the heavens as the Big Dipper.

Animation of the Bear story

Story telling around a campfire. | The Manitoba Museum

As grandfather placed an offering of tobacco, into the fire in honour and respect for the spirits, given to him by his grandson, he began to tell Little Bear about the two worlds, each with one moon. | The Manitoba Museum

Little Bear stood up tall and with his arrow, took careful aim, at the brightest of the two moons. | The Manitoba Museum

Little Bear before he turns into a real bear. | The Manitoba Museum

Little Bear after the transformation, as his spirit rises up into the sky towards the stars and his father. | The Manitoba Museum

The Big Dipper is part of the constellation called the Great Bear. You can see the dipper shape in the top part of the image.

Learn more about the Big Dipper

Snaring the Sun

For the Anishinabe people of central North America, one of the most powerful symbols for the life-force is the Sun. The need for its presence for survival is stressed in the ancient story of The Snaring of the Sun.

This story was related to early European explorers and is still told to this day in Manitoba, Canada.

According to the Anishinabe culture of Central North America, a long time ago, when animals reigned on the Earth, an orphaned sister lived on the edge of the forest with her tiny brother whose name was Pikojigiiwizens. The sister looked after her brother carefully, as he was so little that a bird could have flown away with him. One day, she made him a bow and some arrows and told him to shoot some Wabanagozi or snowbirds, so that she might make him a fine coat. Some time later, while she was out walking through the forest, the little boy followed a path that his sister had warned him to stay away from. He soon became tired and lay down on a knoll where the Sun had melted the snow. He fell fast asleep and, while sleeping, the hot Sun shrunk his bird skin coat. When the boy awoke and saw the damage to his coat, he became angry with the Sun.

"Do not think you are too high", he warned, "I shall revenge myself". The sun shone brightly into his eyes and burned him. For 20 days, the little brother, mourned the loss of his coat and would not move or eat. Finally he asked his sister to make him a snare for he meant to catch the Sun. A mass of bright threads were braided into a cord. The little boy set his snare on the exact spot where the sun would strike the land as it rose. The Sun was trapped in the snare, and although it tugged and tugged it could not get loose.

When the Sun did not come up, the animals became frightened. They called a council meeting to decide who might go and cut the cord. This was dangerous task, since the Sun was sure to burn whoever came near. Even the little brother, Pikojigiiwizens tried, but the Sun was too hot. Then a tiny mouse offered to help. The animals were amused with this little mouse, but they finally agreed that it should try. The mouse climbed up the snare wire as close as possible to the Sun and to chew the cord. The mouse's coat, eyes, feet, and hands were burnt by the heat, but finally, the snare broke. The sun rose up in the sky; light and warmth once more covered the Earth. When the mouse descended to Earth, the animals saw that it had turned into a mole - its eyes were nearly closed from the blinding rays of the Sun.

To this day, the mole prefers to live in darkness.

When the mouse climbed up the snare wire as close as possible to the sun, it began to chew the chord. | The Manitoba Museum

A mass of bright threads were braided into a chord to make a snare to catch the sun. | The Manitoba Museum

The Sun. | © NASA / Extreme UV Imaging Consortium.

Learn more about The Sun.

The Blackfoot of the North American Plains

Introduction by Earl Old Person (part one)
Introduction by Earl Old Person (part two)

We call ourselves Nitsitapii, although we are known as the Blackfoot. We have many stories of the Spomi-tapi-ksi (the Sky Beings) who are part of our world and who have helped us and taught us many important lessons. The Spomi-tapi-ksi guide us on our journeys and define the seasons.

All beings must coexist to survive in the world. The Spomi-tapi-ksi stories are used to teach respect for all of life and to encourage peaceful coexistence. We have many stories about people who have died and become stars. These stories remind us of proper behaviours.

Miohpokoiksi - The Six Lost Boys - The Pleiades

In this Blackfoot story from the North American Plains, six children felt neglected by their parents. They went up to the sky to become the Six Lost Boys, the Pleiades.
- As told by Clifford Crane Bear, Siksika

Video of Clifford Crane Bear telling the story of the Six Lost Boys

Necklace, Siksika, mid 1800s When bison are first born, they are yellow in colour. The six buffalo tails on this necklace are symbolic of the story of the six children who went up to the sky to become the Bunch Stars, also known as Pleiades. Old Sun, leader of the Medicine Man Clan of the northern Siksika wore this necklace when he was a child. It reminds adults not to neglect the wishes of their children. | Glenbow Museum AF 358.

Shield, Siksika, c.1900 Warriors often painted images of their deeds on their shields. The zig-zag lines and half-circles indicate the number of times the owner was a scout on a raiding party. The buffalo figure connects the owner to the power of the buffalo. The six feathers remind us of the story of the six lost boys who became the Bunch Stars.Glenbow Museum AF 763.

Sometimes, especially in the later stages of a star's infancy, a few remaining wisps of nebula reflect the light of their stellar offspring: These are known as reflection nebulae. | Robert Gendler © 2002

Learn more about Pleiades.

Ihkitsikammiksi - The Big Dipper

The seven circles on the ear flaps of our tipis are stars representing the Big Dipper. Our ancient story tells of children who were neglected and who went to live in the sky. When we see this design on tipis we remember to always care for our children.

According to the Blackfoot of the North American Plains, there was once a camp of 10 lodges. In one of them lived a family of nine children, seven boys and two girls. While the six older brothers were away on the war-path, the eldest girl, Bear Skin Woman, married a grizzly bear. Her father was so angered that, with the help of the others, he surrounded the grizzly's cave and killed him. When Bear Skin Woman found out about her husband's death, she changed into a huge grizzly bear, becoming Bear Skin Woman. She attacked the camp, killing everyone, including her father and mother. She spared her youngest brother and sister. The two were greatly frightened when they overheard her talking to herself, planning how she might kill them. One day, when the younger sister went to the river for water, she met her six brothers returning from the war-path. She told them what danger they were in, and they planned to rescue her. She gathered many prickly pears and was instructed to place them in front of the lodge in such a way that there would be a safe way for the children to escape. The children left the lodge at midnight. When the older sister heard them leave, she followed, only to step on the prickly pears. Roaring with pain, she changed herself into a bear again and ran after her brothers. The younger brother had strong medicine powers.

When Bear Skin Woman overtook them, the younger brother shot an arrow into the air. Immediately the children found themselves just as far in advance of their sister as the arrow flew. Bear Skin Woman got close again, but the younger brother waved his medicine feather, which brought thick underbrush in her way. Then he made a lake come between them. Finally, in the last effort to escape, he made a large tree into which the seven brothers and their little sister climbed. But the grizzly knocked the four lowest from the tree. She was about to kill them when the younger brother waved his medicine feather and, singing a song, shot an arrow into the air. Immediately the little sister arose to the sky. He shot six arrows, and each time a brother went up. Finally the younger brother followed, and all of them together formed the family of the Seven Brothers. They took the same position in the sky that they had in the tree. The small star at one side of the handle is the younger sister, while the four at the bottom are the brothers who had been knocked from the tree by their sister, the grizzly.
- As told by Brings Down the Sun, Apatohsipikani.

Joane CARDINAL-SCHUBERT, R.C.A.Canadian; First Nations; Blood (1942-)Ursa Above the Earth, 1987 oil pastel, watercolour, pencil on wove paperGlenbow Collection. Purchased with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts Acquisitions Assistance Program / Oeuvre achetée avec l'aide du programme d'aide aux acquisitions du Conseil des Arts du Canada and with the Glenbow Collections Endowment Fund, 20002000.002.001 | Glenbow Museum

Dick and Beth Soop show their decorated robe, Kainai, 1944. The robe represents the Bunch Stars, the Big Dipper and the Milky Way. | Glenbow Archives NA 5550-10.

The Big Dipper is part of the constellation called the Great Bear. You can see the dipper shape in the top part of the image.

Shot Both Sides and Fred Tailfeathers stand in front of the Falling Star tipi, Kainai, 1930s | Glenbow Archives NA 1241-869.

Learn more about the Big Dipper.

The Sky Beings (The Moon, Sun and Morning Star - The Planet Venus)

Spomi-tapi-ksi (the Sky Beings) are part of our Blackfoot world. Natosi (Sun), his wife Kokomi kisomm (Moon), and their son Ipiso waahsa (Morning Star), gave our ancestors important sacred ceremonies to use whenever we need their help and guidance in our lives.

One of our ancient stories tells how a poor young man was marked with a terrible scar, so he was called Scarface.

The Blackfoot of the North American Plains believe that a poor young man called Scarface was marked with a terrible scar. He was rejected by the woman he wanted to marry and decided to travel far away to try and heal his scar. He travelled for many days, and eventually came to live with Natosi (Sun), Kokomi-kisomm (Moon) and Ipiso-waahsa (Morning Star). During his time with them he had many adventures and received many gifts, including the sweatlodge that Natosi used to heal Scarface, and a shield, bow and arrows. When Scarface left to return to his people, Natosi gave him a white buckskin suit decorated with beautiful quillwork and scalps to commemorate the timeScarface saved Morning Star from the Cranes. Natosi also gave Scarface the instructions for putting up the Holy Lodge, which is done each year by a virtuous woman during the Sundance.
- As told by Earl Old Person, (Amsskaapipikani) or by Three Bears (Duvall).

Writing on Stone (Provincial Park), southern Alberta. The broken badlands of the Milk River valley are a special place for the Blackfoot. Here they recorded their history and ancient stories in pictures carved into the stone. | Glenbow Museum.

Joe Healy, Kainai, c.1880s Joe Healy is wearing a weasel tail suit. The sun, shown as a circular beaded design on his chest, is the source of life on earth, who gave many gifts to our people. | Glenbow Archives AN 659-6.

Star tipi, Kainai, c.1890s The round circles covering this tipi represent the stars. | Glenbow Archives NA 668-10.

Shot Both Sides and Fred Tailfeathers stand in front of the Falling Star tipi, Kainai, 1930s. | Glenbow Archives NA 1241-869.

Blood camps, 1956 Painting by Gerald Tailfeathers, Kainai

For Blackfoot people, the moon is always referred to as our mother. | Glenbow Museum AF 864.

Tailfeathers, Gerald, Blood Camps, 1956 Tailfeathers was one of our first artists to paint in a European style. This painting shows how we have adapted our lives without losing sight of our traditional values. The design on the back of the tipi represents the sun, the moon and morning star. | Gerald Tailfeathers Glenbow Museum 56.22.3.

Navelcord amulet, Blackfoot, 1960s Children of wealthy families often had their umbilical cords sewn into special pouches; snake- shaped for boys; lizard-shaped for girls. The children wore these on their left shoulders, above their hearts. The star motif on this amulet kept the power of the Above Beings with the child and gave her courage in her young life. | Glenbow Museum AF 4262.

Gun case with star designs, Kainai, mid 1900s. | Glenbow Museum.

Gravity holds the Moon in orbit around the Earth. | © NASA / U.S. Geological Survey.

The Blackfoot people have learned a great deal from the wolves.

Weasel Tail Shirt, Siksika, early 1900s This shirt was owned by Willie Scraping White, who was an esteemed leader of ceremonies and kept many of the traditions alive during the middle part of the twentieth century. The beaded strips are decorated with star designs and the circular disc reminds us of Natosi. | Glenbow Museum AF 1081.

One of our ancient stories tells how a man named Scarface travelled to live with Natosi (Sun), Kokomi-kisomm (Moon) and Ipiso-waahsa (Morning Star). During his time with them he had many adventures and received many gifts, including the sweatlodge and the bow and arrow.The sweatlodge is very important to our ceremonial life. | Glenbow Museum.

Scarface helped to save Morning Star from many dangerous things. The star design reminds us of the power of the Above Beings. | Glenbow Museum AF 1408 a-b.

Shirt, Siksika, late 1800s Natosi told our people to make their clothes from white, tanned hides. The weasel tails recall the time that Scarface saved Morning Star from the cranes. The circles are hail and remind us of our connection to Thunder. All of these elements on this shirt renew our connection to the Above Beings. | Glenbow Museum AF 742.

The North Star and Morning Star - The Planet Venus

The Fixed Star, or North Star, is essential for navigation in the northern hemisphere.

The Woman who married Morning Star - This story explains how the North Star came into existence, and also how we received one of our most important ceremonies.

According to the Blackfoot people of the North American Plains, it was in the summertime when two girls went outside of their lodge to sleep. The girls awoke before day-break, and one of them said to the other, "I would like to marry that beautiful Star that shines so bright." Not long after, the same two girls were out gathering wood. They were about to start home with their bundles of wood, when one of the ropes broke on the bundle carried by the girl who wanted to marry the Star. As she was fixing it, a young man approached her and said he had come for her. Then the young man said to her, "I am Morning Star whom you said you would like to marry." He took her to his home with Natosi (Sun) and Kokomi-kisomm (Moon). After some time, she gave birth to a child. To pass the time, she would go out every day to dig roots and turnips. She could go anywhere in the sky, but her husband forbade her to dig a certain large turnip. But one day, the temptation was too great, and she could not resist digging up the turnip to see what was underneath. Looking through a hole in the sky, which is the North Star, she saw all her family down upon the Earth. She started to cry and her loneliness was very great. At last Ipiso-waahsa (Morning Star) cut a long rope of buffalo rawhide and lowered her back to Earth with her child. Before she left, he gave her a ceremonial headdress and an elk tooth dress and the ceremony of ookaan. Her people were to use this ceremony every year to call on Natosi (Sun) and ask for his pity and help.
- As told by Mrs. Wolf Plume, Amsskaapipikani in 1911.

Sundance Camp, Siksika, 1920s Each year all of our clans come together to renew our connections with our universe. We call this the ako-katssin, "the time of all people camping together." This is the time when all members of our Sacred Societies meet together and have ceremonies which recall how the bundles and rituals were given to us. | Glenbow Archives NA 667-219

After the woman who married Morning Star returned to earth, her son was turned into a puff ball. These fungi ,which we call Kakatosii, grow in many places on the prairie. We use the puffball powder to stop bleeding and haemorrhage. The puff ball is often shown along the bottom edge of tipi designs. | Glenbow Museum

Mrs. Joe Buffalo, Peigan, c.1910 wearing a white hide dress decorated wtih elk teeth. | Glenbow Archives NB 44-59a

Woman's Leggings, Siksika, c.1950 These leggings were made by Mrs. Cyril Olds. The star design reminds us of our relationship to the Above Beings. | Glenbow Museum AF 752

Men's moccasins with star designs, Siksika, mid 1900s. | Glenbow Museum AF 1270

Moccasins, Kainai, early 1900s This pattern may represent Morning Star or a Dream Being. | Glenbow Museum R84.10 a-b

Earl Old Person, Amsskaapipikani, Montana Earl is the hereditary chief of the Blackfeet Nation in Montana. This song is sung while the centre pole to the Holy Woman's lodge is being raised. | Glenbow Museum

Learn more about Venus.

Makoi-Yohsokoyi - The Wolf Trail - The Milky Way

The Wolf Trail reminds us of the time our ancestors were taught how to survive by the wolves.

According to the Blackfoot people of the North American plains, Makoiyi, the wolves, were the first Ksahkomi tapiksi (Earth Beings) to pity us. One snowy winter, when our people were starving, a young man and his family camped by themselves as they searched for food. The wolves found the family and appeared to them as young men bringing fresh meat to their tipi. The wolves took this family with them back to their camp. There, there were many different animals camped together, and they helped the family to set up, make a fire and get food. The animals shared many spiritual gifts with the man and also showed the man how to co-operate with other people when he hunted buffalo and other animals. The wolves also told our ancestors that animals with hoofs and horns were all right to eat, but that animals with paws and claws should be left alone. The wolves disappeared in the spring, but we still see them in the sky as Makoi-Yohsokoyi (Wolf Trail). These stars constantly remind us of how we should live together.
-As told by Rosie Day Rider and Louise Crop Eared Wolf, Kainai.

Video of Rosie Day Rider and Louise Crop Eared Wolf recounting the Wolf Trail story.

Blanket Strip, Blackfoot Confederacy, early 20th century In the old days, our women sewed two buffalo hides together to make a robe for the men to wear in the coldest weather. A strip of elaborate porcupine quillwork was sewn over the seam to hide the stitching. When European traders arrived in our country, our women began making these decorations from glass beads. They were sewn along the back of blankets, which replaced the heavy robes. | Glenbow Museum AF 4697

The sun, shown as a circular design, is the source of life on earth, who gave many gifts to our people. | Glenbow Archives NA 1700-87

Woman's Dress, Kainai, c.1900. | Glenbow Museum AF 1257

The Blackfoot people have learned a great deal from the wolves. | Glenbow Museum.