The Boys: A Cherokee Story of The Pleiades

Written by Josh Smallwood (Cherokee) I stumbled across Chumash Science Through Time while researching where in the Chumash Nation my wife and I should go for stargazing. I came across a video of respected elder Alan Salazar talking about Chumash astronomy and the summer solstice, recounting the Chumash story of the Pleiades constellation. In short,…

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TEK in practice: Chumash Naturalists and Ecologists Speak about traditional plants

The Chumash Science Through Time blog features guest blogs from Indigenous writers.  The following essay from Michelle and Kim Perez explores Chumash ecological knowledge in the context of broader conversations about Traditional Ecological Knowledge.  Before we begin this article, we ask for forgiveness from our elders and relatives with more knowledge and experience than us.…

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Ceremony’s role in transmitting traditional knowledge: The Case of `Alchuklash

The Arborglyph is a tree carving in nitspu tiƗhin ktityu (in the world of the yak titʸu titʸu yak tiƗhini), representing a map of the movement of the stars throughout the year. It was left by an`Alchuklash or Chumash astronomer, reminding us of the ways that our traditional knowledge connects us with our place in…

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We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Navajo Wedding

This is our first guest blog post! Welcome to the next phase of the Chumash Science Through Time blog where we will feature guest blogs from Indigenous writers talking about Indigenous Science. The following essay from Nazbah Tom gives us a chance to reflect on the ways that ceremony and kinship are key parts of…

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