'A very human event:' Rediscovering local heritage through Native American eclipse stories

On April 8, much of Upstate New York will be treated to a total solar eclipse. For several minutes the moon will block the sun, darkening the skies in the middle of the afternoon.

Over 800 years ago, the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy was established during the same celestial event.

Local storyteller Perry Ground (Turtle Clan, Onondaga Nation) teamed up with the South Central Regional Library Council (SCRLC) to bring Native American eclipse legends to life in his Raven Steals The Sun show.

The program, streamed on March 25 at the Tompkins County Library, will be broadcast across SCRLCS’s 10,000 square-mile service area encompassing Allegany, Broome, Cayuga, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Otsego, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Tioga, Tompkins, and Yates.

The presentation is part of the council’s Moon Mondays: Get Ready for the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse project.

SCRLC Executive Director Mary Carol Lindbloom noted that most of the participating libraries are on the traditional homelands of the Haudenosaunee peoples.

“Offering a program centered on indigenous eclipse stories will help people better understand the significance of celestial events across different cultures," she said. "Astronomy teaches that the 88 constellations derive from Greek tradition. And yet, there are many many ways to see the sky."

'Moon Mondays'

According to Lindbloom, the Moon Monday project was an effort to engage member libraries in the Great American Eclipse hype. The initiative connected communities with regional astronomical societies to create train-the-trainer programs and help develop online eclipse guides, she said.

Ground’s performance was funded in part by a $4,760 grant from the American Astronomical Society's Jay M. Pasachoff Solar Eclipse Mini-Grants Program.

“For many years I was on the board of the Syracuse Astronomical Society,” Lindbloom said. “My whole life I’ve been passionate about astronomy. In the past, we've hosted events featuring NASA Soundscapes, the Dark Sky Association, and Cornell University's Space Science program.”

All SCRLC's past programs are archived on Youtube but Ground's performance will not be. Instead, Lindbloom said the council plans to record the event using a time capsule to be unearthed 54 years later.

“We are creating a box to be opened on May 1, 2079 – the next total solar eclipse here in New York,” Lindbloom shared. “We'll include an eclipse kit, news clippings, student artwork, accounts of the experience, and a weather report.”

Beyond science: 'The eclipse is part of the human experience'

For over 25 years Ground has been a professional storyteller. He said what drives his work is a felt responsibility to express how the Haudenosaunee view the world and their place within it.

“Stories make us uniquely human,” Ground said. “People have always told stories about the human experience. This eclipse is part of that experience. Different cultures have legends which attempt to describe why the sky has dimmed.”

To create an accurate show, Ground said he's traveled across the nation to connect with different tribes, read several historical texts, and conducted extensive research online.

“I found it interesting that many eclipse stories shared similarities – each centered around an event, outside the human experience, that people were trying to explain,” explained Ground. “Sure, there were different characters but each story relied on the same themes of change, identity, and behavior.”

While schools, museums, and planetariums teach the science behind an eclipse Ground asked who is addressing the 'human element' behind it all?

“It’s important to understand the correlation between science and human behavior," Ground said. "An eclipse is a very human event… look at all the excitement surrounding this one! And the last one [2017] as well, people traveled great distances to experience the path of totality. There are all kinds of emotions wrapped up in a celestial event. That’s what this show touches on.”

Raven steals The Sun

Ground explained that for centuries tribes have acknowledged eclipses as signals, omens, and means for celebration. He said his show examines the beliefs, traditions, and protocols of each tribe from the Cherokee and Navajo to the Inuit and Haudenosaunee.

While many of the legends are quite old, Ground drew attention to the fact they continue to hold importance to indigenous cultures today. He outlined a few examples.

For some tribes, an element of fear is involved. The Cherokee people say that during an eclipse a giant frog is eating the sun and their reaction is to bang pots to get the frog to go away. In other tribes the frog is interchanged with a squirrel or a bear, Ground affirmed.

“The eclipse signals the Cherokee people to do something, to work through their fear and resurrect the sun,” Ground said. “On the other hand, many view the eclipse as a solemn event. Southwestern native peoples – the Hopi, Navajo, and Pueblo tribes – view the eclipse as a time of transformation; death and rebirth.”

Other legends write off the event as nature being nature. The Inuit people tell the story of a brother, the moon, chasing his sister, the sun. Every once in a while he wraps her in his arms but since she’s too hot he has to let go, said Ground.

Ground prefers stories that inform reactions, "when people notice that something in nature has been lost and that prompts them to change their behavior."

He said the Haudenosaunee understood celestial cycles and would hold eclipse rituals, similar to modern-day watch parties.

Haudenosaunee perspective

Tribes across the Mohawk Valley view total solar eclipses as signals of peace, Ground said.

“The origin comes from the story of the peacemaker, the man who joined the Iroquois Confederacy," Ground said. "The alliance originally included five nations: Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca. At first, the Seneca Nation could not decide whether or not to join. Upon discussing their reluctance with the peacemaker the sun disappeared. Frightened, they gave into the notion of peace. The total solar eclipse was seen as a sign to stop fighting and embrace union.”

It's crucial to learn about those around us as there are still many Haudenosaunee people across the state, said Ground. “When we better understand each other we forge stronger relationships,” he emphasized.

Admittedly, this will be Ground’s first total solar eclipse experience. Although he’s not quite sure what to expect, he said he looks forward to experiencing the event with a community of others.

“I view this as an opportunity for us each to contemplate our place within the world," he said. "The last Great American eclipse unfortunately did not impart much change, in terms of unification. Will this one affect positive change? We'll know on April 9.”

Local shows

As the eclipse draws near, Ground is fully booked with performances across the state. Hoping to catch a glimpse of one of his shows?

In Oneida County, the Kirkland Town Library will broadcast the SCRLC livestream at 10 a.m. on Monday, March 25. Respectively, in Hamilton County Ground will host a a star party at Colgate University’s Ho Tung Visualization Lab from 7:30-11 p.m. on April 5.

“The eclipse shows that I've already performed were packed,” Ground gleamed. “Libraries have been running out of chairs, it's been so crowded that people have had to lean against the bookshelves. There's something about this eclipse that people are so excited by … the energy is captivating.”

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: 2024 solar eclipse: Native American storyteller examines eclipse legends