Spot these three Salish constellations this winter

On crisp, clear nights, step outside and try to spot ancient Salish asterisms in the heavens—star patterns associated with familiar objects, people or actions, often forming part of a constellation in modern astronomy. 

Salish-speaking communities have lived across Montana, Idaho, Washington and B.C. for many millennia, but much of their astronomical knowledge has been lost. 

In this Q&A, Dr. Shandin Pete, who is Salish/Dine and an assistant professor of teaching in the department of earth, ocean and atmospheric sciences, explains how he’s piecing this knowledge back together to help identify ancient celestial patterns. 

Why were asterisms important to Salish communities?

In the Salish worldview, the sky reflects the earth, so patterns in the sky are seen as if from a bird’s-eye view, looking down. Salish astronomy included knowledge of lunar, stellar and solar movements and events, guiding concepts of time, seasons and moral order. I’ve confirmed about six Salish asterisms with specific stories, and have identified another six or so where I’m still matching the stories to the stars. 

Why don’t we know more about Salish asterisms?

Salish astronomy, like many traditional knowledge systems, was disrupted through colonization, including introduced diseases, active suppression of culture and language, forced religious conversion and economic pressures that drove younger generations away from communities. 

Revitalization efforts produced booklets for school-aged children, but the stories became truncated and censored. 

I search existing archives to find mentions of Salish astronomical stories, which are scant, and use knowledge of different worldviews to connect the dots. 

There are a lot of variants across the Salish communities’ eco-regions, but oral traditions and creation stories are very similar. Studying Interior and Coastal Salish communities helped me to reconstruct full stories and their associated asterisms. 

What asterisms can we see in the sky right now?

You could spot “The Canoe”, part of Orion in Western astronomy. The belt is the centre, the shoulder and opposing foot are the ends of the canoe, and surrounding stars are brothers-in-arms. 

The story goes that the brothers are building a canoe to go fishing, but the wind—an animate force—plans to destroy it with them inside. BlueJay, a clever messenger in Salish stories, notices the threat and asks Old Man Coyote—a trickster and powerful force in many Salish tales—to intercede. Old Man Coyote agrees, and turns the brothers into stars so that they can be together forever. 

There’s also Esʔsk̓ʷlelt, the “Castaway Children”, known in Western astronomy as the Pleiades and surrounding stars. A group of children were abandoned by their father—Snčĺé, Coyote or Raven—after he chased his wife for stealing his favourite basket. 

One asterism I’m still trying to figure out is the Little and Big Dipper. In the Salish interior, the northern star is Smx̣éy̓čn̓asq̓t (“the grizzly bear in the sky”), which is associated with part of the Little Dipper. Another group of stars is known as Čspéʔl̓č̓s Kʷkʷusm̓ (“Seven Stars”). 

Two related stories—a black bear and a grizzly—are often told interchangeably. In most versions, a bear is being hunted by three brothers. The bear is their brother-in-law, and while the two elder brothers plan to kill him, the youngest warns him. In the end, all are transformed into stars. 

Depending on the version of the story, the figures appear in either the Big or Little Dipper. Some say the four stars in the Big Dipper’s bowl are the bear and the stars forming the handle are the three brothers. 

What do Salish asterisms tell us?

Salish asterisms help us remember what happened in the past, through stories about creatures that were here before humans. They remind us of the potential of both human failure and success. 

You can imagine skilled storytellers weaving tales for people of all ages, adding humour or pathos as they wanted, so the stories become a reminder of how we should or shouldn’t act, detailing the real-life consequences of lying, theft, murder and more. 

Interview language(s): English, Salish.

Dr. Pete will present his research at Salish Skies: Indigenous Sky Stories on December 13.