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North-South-East-West: American Indians and the Natural World
On the Plains the landscape is vast and the sky looms large. Plains people have looked to the geographic features of the Earth and to the stars in the sky above for finding the way and making decisions. All humans would be directionless on Earth without celestial aid from the observable sky, without the sun and the other stars to help us locate ourselves in space and time. The Plains tribes practiced naked-eye astronomy and observation. The Lakota used the stars to guide them in finding their way and to time their hunting, gathering, and ritual activities. Philosophically they believed that the geography of Earth is a reflection of the star world. Plains artists pay homage to the centrality, power, and importance of the sun and the sky with depictions on ceremonial and personal-power objects. The stars and planets of most significance to Plains people are Venus (the Morning Star), Ursa Major (Big Dipper), and the Pleiades. Each tribe has its own name for the various constellations. The Arapaho call Ursa Major the "Broken Backbone." In a folktale the Lakota tell how the "Seven Little Girls," or Pleiades, were placed in the sky. Plains people address the four cardinal directions plus two more, the zenith above and the nadir below, during every ceremonial undertaking. The Morning Star Lakota women began making quilts in the late 19th century as an alternative to buffalo robes, which were no longer available. They learned the technique from Euro-American women in government schools and church guilds. Lakota quilters singled out the star of Bethlehem pattern as a favorite, most likely because of its resemblance to their traditional morning star design. Star quilts are made to be given away. Lakota women stitch quilts for new babies, graduations, weddings, veteran homecomings, wakes, and memorials--in sum, for every important occasion in a Lakota's lifetime and death. Image 1: Robe Image 2: Star Quilt |
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Venus shines brighter in the sky than any other star or planet. Lakota people observed the brilliant planet and incorporated it as a symbol into their myths, ceremonies, and works of art. The morning star, probably Venus, dominates Lakota quilt designs.