Lakota Star Knowledge

"In this spellbinding journey into the dark night skies of the Lakotan homeland in southwestern South Dakota, renowned Oglalan scholar Craig Howe takes a dozen middle school students from the Rosebud Reservation on a cultural and astronomical exploration of the Lakotan universe. 

Through the narratives of Wi and Hanwi, Fallen Star, the creation of Mato Tipila, and the role of the Milky Way and Big Dipper in the Lakotan cycle of life and death, Howe weaves lessons in practical astronomy together with the philosophical foundations of traditional Lakotan culture. 

Lakota Star Knowledge deepens our appreciation for the complexity of Lakotan cosmology and the relationship between Lakotan culture, spirituality, and the material world." 

Following the screening, Lukas Rieppel and Craig Howe will discuss the film and field questions from the audience.  

Those interested in Indigenous astronomy and cosmology are warmly invited to join this event and explore the Lakota universe. 

This event has been organized by the "Department of Knowledge Systems and Collective Life" at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science.