Mapping

Ininiw Acakosuk: the Cree stars

Tracking 16 Ininiw constellations and their narratives across the night sky

Stars in the night sky have been used as maps around the world for centuries with the oldest and most accurate star map thought to have come from Ancient Egypt around 1500 B.C. (Photo: Ben Nguyen)
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All cultures have connections to the sky. Indigenous Peoples have a depth of knowledge not yet referenced or acknowledged; when most people look to the stars in the northern hemisphere, it’s the Greek and Roman constellations they recognize.

Original painting by Annette S. Lee and William P. Wilson, 2016. ©Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre INC. All rights reserved.
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This image is a Ininiw perspective of some of the stars — 16 Ininiw constellations — in our northern hemisphere sky. You’ll notice some of the images are overlapping. In Indigenous astronomy, there are multiple narratives for numerous groupings of stars, a contrast to western or Greco-Roman astronomy, where a group of stars is recognized with one identifier

or name, and no more. Ursa Major is Ursa Major; Corona Borealis is Corona Borealis.

But here, on the Cree star map, the stars known as the Big Dipper, for example, have many acimowinuk (narratives) attached to them. Sometimes these acimowinuk refer specifically to the main dipper stars, and sometimes they are included in a larger grouping or constellation.

In my research on acakosuk (stars or energies), I have come across eight narratives about the dipper and surrounding stars. One of these narratives tells of Mista Muskwa, the big bear, who roamed the traditional lands wreaking havoc. The animals of the land decided to send their best trackers and hunters, Tepakoop Pinesisuk (the Seven Birds, or the Corona Borealis), to drive the bear from the land. During this pursuit, Mista Muskwa and Tepakoop Pinesisuk were so fast, it is said they all flew into the northern night sky. We are told Mista Muskwa is placed in the sky as a reminder of how to treat those less powerful.

There are also different narratives about the phenomenon commonly referred to as the Milky Way. From my people, I have come across eight identifiers given to this important apparition that stretches across our night sky.

We draw these narratives for everything in the sky from our languages, ceremonies, songs, cosmology, worldview, social norms, protocols, relationships, responsibilities, educational methodologies and dreams.

The term Ininiw, the name for Cree people, means “of the four” and refers to our origin narrative. We come from the stars; we are connected and related to the stars. The root of our word for the stars (acakosuk) is “acak,” which means energy or light. We are energy and light, as are all things. “Of the four” refers to the energies (earth, air, water and fire) that were incorporated to create our physical body. Biologically speaking, these energies are nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen and carbon. We are, essentially, energy and come to visit Ota Aski (Earth) to experience a physical reality (Ininiw). Thus, when we finish our visit here, we revert back to “acak.”

To learn more Cree star stories, and see videos of Wilfred Buck telling them, visit acakwuskwun.com. His book Tipiskawi Kisik: Night Sky Star Stories holds a collection of Ininiw (Cree) star stories.

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This story is from the September/October 2024 Issue

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