The Pleiades Experience: Cross-cultural Connections in Polynesia (SF)

Submitted by the Event Organizer

Join the San Francisco Amateur Astronomers as we welcome our guest lecturer, Dr Isabel Hawkins!

The Sun, Moon, planets, and stars have accompanied sky watchers over millennia. The Pleiades star cluster, observable from every continent except Antarctica, is tied to Indigenous worldviews, astronomy, calendaring, traditional weaving, weather prediction, and agriculture. For the original peoples of Polynesia, Mesoamerica, and the Andes, the Pleiades cluster continues to be a source of knowledge, both culturally and scientifically. Due to native language loss and globalization, the knowledge is eroding at a fast pace. I will describe results of a Fulbright U.S. Global Scholar collaborative research project conducted in ancestral lands with Indigenous elders, young adults, and academics, as well as with other knowledge holders in Aotearoa/New Zealand, Guatemala, and Peru. Results are being shared locally for the benefit of the host communities and future generations.

Isabel Hawkins, Ph.D., is Astronomer & Senior Scientist at the Exploratorium museum of art, science, and human perception in San Francisco, CA. As a Fulbright US Global Scholar in Aotearoa/New Zealand, Guatemala, and Peru (2018-2022), she conducted cross-cultural research on traditional knowledge of the Pleiades star cluster in collaboration with Indigenous knowledge holders. She is a bilingual and bicultural science educator with a doctorate in astrophysics from UCLA. Her passion is to facilitate authentic participation of pluricultural communities, particularly Indigenous and Latinx, in STEM in ways that make visible and animate The Cultural Roots of STEM. Her interests include latin dance and the study of Maya hieroglyphs and Indigenous languages.

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