Reach for the stars
The Cree of the James Bay coast have always turned to the sky for survival. Every fall we looked up from our blinds on the land to harvest migrating birds moving south for the winter. Our lives depended on the coming and going of the Niska (Canada goose), Way-way (snow geese), Shee-sheep (ducks) and many other smaller migrating birds. We honoured these creatures and thanked them for helping us survive.
My ancestors were not landlocked the way we are today. They had free range as nomads on the land and travelled at certain times of the year to hunt, trap and gather for survival. They did not see the world as we do today. To them the world was one and connected. They travelled on the land living with all the other creatures in a balanced way. They were out in the open in the muskeg, on the snow and ice and on the rivers and lakes. They saw the sky, land and water as a part of the whole.
Today, most of us rarely take the time to be out on the land or look up into the sky. We are indoors most of the time at some form of work, watching television or roaming our world on the internet with various devices. When my parents were alive they frequently frowned on our captivity by any media. They urged us to get outside, to venture out to our traditional lands. They taught us about surviving with very little on the land and to respect Mother Earth.
My ancestors spent a lot of time looking skyward when hunting and also at night to navigate their way on the great James Bay. My dad understood the stars and the heavenly bodies. Survival depended on knowing directions according to the moon, sun and stars. They understood how to read the sky and the land to forecast the weather and provide information on what was ahead.
I recall my dad noting what moon it was during the year to keep track of what the animals were doing and to know when the coldest periods took place. Out on the bay he could tell by the formation of clouds whether a storm was brewing and when it would be coming to us. All of these things my people learned through many generations and they did so because figuring out these signs contributed to their survival. They had to rely more on the natural world around them and they did so because they had a holistic view of their reality.
We spend most of our time in boxes and wrapped up with artificial images and media. I remember the look of awe and shock on the faces of visiting city people at the crystal clear lakes and rivers in the middle of the wilderness. The real world was actually shocking to them. City people I have taken out to witness the amazing northern lights and star-studded sky were dazzled by the experience and at times fearful of so much magic.
In my busy town-based life I spend a lot of time in the house. However, I try my best to get out on the land to sit by the campfire and look up at the majestic northern star lit sky. This summer, my friend Donald Elliott alerted me to a smartphone app called “ISS Detector” that allowed me to follow the International Space Station as it orbited Earth. The app let me know when it would be passing over at night. Thanks to Donald I found myself outside under the stars with friends waiting for the space station to float over us. On clear nights I witnessed it lazily flying by as a very bright light in the sky. It is always exciting to see that light coming into view. I imagine the astronauts in the craft working away at experiments and glancing down at our wonderful little planet.
We are so fortunate to have life on our world that is just a random speck in the universe. I think of how incredible Mother Earth is and how good she is to us. It shames me that we humans have made such a mess of things. We are fighting wars, keeping people in poverty and oppressing them far too much. Many of us have forgotten our way and our place as human beings on our planet and we just don’t see the connection so much anymore. It is time to take a minute and go outside to say hello to the stars.