Wilfred Buck

Last updated
Wilfred Buck
Alma mater University of Manitoba
Known forknowledge of First Nations astronomy

Wilfred Buck is a science facilitator at the Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre and an Indigenous star lore expert. A member of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation, Buck is known as "the star guy" due to his knowledge of First Nations astronomy. He has researched and consulted with elders to learn more about the astronomical knowledge of Cree, Ojibway, and Lakota peoples.

Contents

Early life and education

Buck grew up in northern Manitoba on the Opaskwayak Cree Nation, near Saskatchewan. [1] He developed his love of astronomy at a young age and has described being "totally blown away by the immensity" of the night sky as a child. [1] As a teenager, he spent time homeless on the streets of Vancouver. [2] Cree elders invited him back to Manitoba, and he learned about Cree culture. [2]

He has a Bachelor of Education and postbaccalaureate education from the University of Manitoba. [3]

Career

Buck began working at the Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre as a science facilitator around 2008. [4] His mandate in the role was to "put the First Nations perspective into science"; consulting with elders, he realized he instead needed to put science into a First Nations perspective. [4] He began using the stars, "atchakosuk" in Cree, as a way to learn more about the scientific knowledge of the Ininewuk (Cree) people, Lakota people, and the Anishinaabe (Ojibway) people. [4]

Using two portable dome-shaped planetariums, Buck teaches First Nations students about the stars visible in the night sky. [5] [6] He tours the planetariums to the 55 band-operated schools in Manitoba, projecting constellations onto the dome and sharing stories about each. [1] Students refer to him as "the star guy". [5] [4] In his work, Buck discusses the deep knowledge that First Nations people had about astronomy: not just naming constellations, but using their observations to contemplate topics such as cosmology and quantum physics. [7]

Along with indigenous astronomer Annette S. Lee, Buck was a co-curator of the "One Sky, Many Astronomies" exhibit at Ottawa's Canada Science and Technology Museum, featuring constellations of Canada's indigenous cultures. [2] [8] He served as a storyteller and content expert in the 22-minute film "Legends of the Night Sky," shown on the planetarium of Telus World of Science in Edmonton. [1] [9]

Buck has gathered more than two dozen star stories from indigenous elders around Manitoba. [2] In 2016, in collaboration with members of the Native Skywatchers initiative, Buck and partners Annette Lee and William Wilson created a native sky map, Ininew Achakos Masinkan, an artistic rendition of Cree constellations in planisphere format. [10] He is one of the co-organizers of the first Indigenous Star Knowledge Symposium, scheduled to be held in 2021 in Ottawa and featuring indigenous knowledge keepers from around the world. [6]

In 2024 he was the subject of Wilfred Buck , a documentary film by Lisa Jackson. [11]

NameExoWorlds contest

In 2019, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) celebrated its 100 year anniversary. As part of the centenary celebrations, the IAU ran the NameExoWorlds contest. As part of this contest, the IAU assigned a star with an exoplanet to each participating country. Astronomers in each country ran a contest where members of the public were invited to propose a set of names for the star and exoplanet. Canada's contest was run by the Canadian Astronomical Society (CASCA). [12] The IAU assigned Canada the star HD 136418 and its exoplanet HD 136418b, and over 500 pairs of names were submitted in the contest. [12] Since many Indigenous names were proposed, Wilfred Buck was asked to review the proposals, in particular one proposal to use the names for mother and child in the Cree language made by teacher Amanda Green. [13] Wilfred Buck made some changes to her original proposal, and the final names chosen for the star and exoplanet were Nikawiy for the star and Awasis for the exoplanet. [13] CASCA credits both Green and Buck for the pair of names. [12]

Books

Buck is the author of the 2018 book Tipiskawi Kisik: Night Sky Star Stories, an exploration of the night sky from a Ininew (Cree) perspective. [14]

In 2021 he published I Have Lived Four Lives, a memoir of his own journey from a troubled and impoverished childhood to becoming a respected scientist. [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constellation</span> Group of stars on the celestial sphere

A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delphinus</span> Constellation in the northern celestial hemisphere

Delphinus is a small constellation in the Northern Celestial Hemisphere, close to the celestial equator. Its name is the Latin version for the Greek word for dolphin (δελφίς). It is one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern constellations recognized by the International Astronomical Union. It is one of the smaller constellations, ranked 69th in size. Delphinus' five brightest stars form a distinctive asterism symbolizing a dolphin with four stars representing the body and one the tail. It is bordered by Vulpecula, Sagitta, Aquila, Aquarius, Equuleus and Pegasus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fomalhaut</span> Triple star system in the constellation Piscis Austrinus

Fomalhaut is the brightest star in the southern constellation of Piscis Austrinus, the Southern Fish, and one of the brightest stars in the night sky. It has the Bayer designation Alpha Piscis Austrini, which is an alternative form of α Piscis Austrini, and is abbreviated Alpha PsA or α PsA. This is a class A star on the main sequence approximately 25 light-years (7.7 pc) from the Sun as measured by the Hipparcos astrometry satellite. Since 1943, the spectrum of this star has served as one of the stable anchor points by which other stars are classified.

All stars but one can be associated with an IAU constellation. IAU constellations are areas of the sky. Although there are only 88 IAU constellations, the sky is actually divided into 89 irregularly shaped boxes as the constellation Serpens is split into two separate sections, Serpens Caput to the west and Serpens Cauda to the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tau Boötis</span> Star in the constellation of Boötes

Tau Boötis, Latinised from τ Boötis, is an F-type main-sequence star approximately 51 light-years away in the constellation of Boötes. It is a binary star system, with the secondary star being a red dwarf. In 1999, an extrasolar planet was detected orbiting the primary star. In December 2020, astronomers may have observed, for the first time, radio emissions from a planet beyond the Solar System. According to the researchers: "The signal is from the Tau Boötis system, which contains a binary star and an exoplanet. We make the case for an emission by the planet itself."

First Nations in Manitoba constitute of over 160,000 registered persons as of 2021, about 57% of whom live on reserve. Manitoba is second to Ontario in total on-reserve population and in total First Nation population.

The Opaskwayak Cree Nation is a First Nations band government located in Manitoba, Canada. The main OCN reserve is regarded as one of three distinct communities that comprise "The Pas area" in northern Manitoba, with the two others being the Town of The Pas and the Rural Municipality of Kelsey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Year of Astronomy</span> 2009 UN theme year

The International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009) was a year-long celebration of astronomy that took place in 2009 to coincide with the 400th anniversary of the first recorded astronomical observations with a telescope by Galileo Galilei and the publication of Johannes Kepler's Astronomia nova in the 17th century. The Year was declared by the 62nd General Assembly of the United Nations. A global scheme, laid out by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), was also endorsed by UNESCO, the UN body responsible for educational, scientific, and cultural matters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pollux b</span> Possible gas giant exoplanet orbiting Pollux

Pollux b, formally named Thestias, is an exoplanet candidate orbiting the star Pollux approximately 34 light-years away in the constellation of Gemini. It is also designated β Geminorum b or HD 62509 b. If this planet exists, it has a minimum mass of about twice the mass of Jupiter, and it moves around Pollux in 1.61 years at a distance of 1.64 AU in a nearly circular orbit. However, its existence has been disputed.

41 Lyncis, also designated HD 81688 and named Intercrus, is a fifth-magnitude star located in the northern constellation of Ursa Major. An extrasolar planet is thought to be orbiting the star.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PSR B1257+12 A</span> Sub Earth orbiting PSR B1257+12 A

PSR B1257+12 b, alternatively designated PSR B1257+12 A, also named Draugr, is an extrasolar planet approximately 2,300 light-years (710 pc) away in the constellation of Virgo. The planet is the innermost object orbiting the pulsar Lich, making it a pulsar planet in the dead stellar system. It is about twice as massive as the Moon, and is listed as the least massive planet known, including among the planets in the Solar System.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PSR B1257+12 B</span> Super-Earth orbiting PSR B1257+12 B

PSR B1257+12 c, alternatively designated PSR B1257+12 B, also named Poltergeist, is an extrasolar planet approximately 2,300 light-years away in the constellation of Virgo. It was one of the first planets ever discovered outside the Solar System, and is one of three pulsar planets known to be orbiting the pulsar Lich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">14 Andromedae b</span> Extrasolar planet in Andromeda constellation

14 Andromedae b, formally named Spe, is an exoplanet approximately 249 light years away in the constellation of Andromeda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">42 Draconis</span> Star in the constellation Draco

42 Draconis, formally named Fafnir, is a 5th magnitude K-type giant star located approximately 315 light years away in the constellation of Draco. As of 2009, an extrasolar planet is thought to be orbiting the star.

HD 136418 b, also known by its proper name Awasis, is an extrasolar planet orbiting the G-type star HD 136418 approximately 320 light years away in the constellation Boötes It has a notable orbit, staying within the known habitable zone. It also has a star very similar in temperature as the Sun.

Astronomy education or astronomy education research (AER) refers both to the methods currently used to teach the science of astronomy and to an area of pedagogical research that seeks to improve those methods. Specifically, AER includes systematic techniques honed in science and physics education to understand what and how students learn about astronomy and determine how teachers can create more effective learning environments.

Annette S. Lee is an American astrophysicist and professional artist. Lee is the director of Native Skywatchers, a program created to record, map, and share Indigenous star knowledge. She is mixed-race Lakota and works with Ojibwe, Dakota and Lakota communities to preserve those cultures' astronomical and ecological knowledge.

Nancy Cottrell Maryboy is a Cherokee and Navajo Indigenous science expert and educator. Maryboy is the president of the Indigenous Education Institute, an organization she founded in 1995 to apply traditional Indigenous knowledge to contemporary settings. Much of her work has focused on Indigenous astronomy and she has written several books on Navajo astronomy.

Indigenous astronomy is the name given to the use and study of astronomical subjects and their movements by indigenous groups. This field encompasses culture, traditional knowledge, and astronomy. Astronomy has been practised by indigenous groups to create astronomical calendars which inform on weather, navigation, migration, agriculture, and ecology. Alongside calendric uses, constellations have names and stories that inform ceremony and social structures holding specific and deep cultural meanings for respective indigenous groups.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "'Legends of the Northern Sky': Movie explores Cree culture's connection to the stars". CBC News. 10 April 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Taylor, Christie (6 September 2019). "Relearning The Star Stories Of Indigenous Peoples". Science Friday. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  3. ↑ "IPS 2020 Keynote Speakers". International Planetarium Society. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Cree mythology written in the stars". CBC Radio. 15 January 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Wilfred Buck: The Star Guy". Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre. 13 December 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  6. 1 2 Boutsalis, Kelly (11 August 2020). "Teaching Indigenous Star Stories". The Walrus. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  7. ↑ Mortillaro, Nicole (20 March 2019). "'We come from the stars': How Indigenous peoples are taking back astronomy". CBC News. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  8. ↑ "One Sky, Many Astronomies". Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre. 8 May 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  9. ↑ Garner, Ryan (10 April 2019). "Legends of the Northern Sky brings Indigenous storytelling tradition to Telus World of Science". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  10. ↑ Lee, Annette S.; Wilson, William; Tibbetts, Jeff; Gawboy, Cark; Meyer, Anne; Buck, Wilfred; Knutson-Kolodzne, Jim; Pantalony, David (2019). "Celestial calendar-paintings and culture-based digital storytelling: cross-cultural, interdisciplinary, STEM/STEAM resources for authentic astronomy education engagement". EPJ Web of Conferences. 200: 01002. arXiv: 2008.07716 . doi: 10.1051/epjconf/201920001002 . Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  11. ↑ Lise Pedersen, "‘Wilfred Buck,’ About Indigenous Star Lore Expert, Is a Feel-Good Story, Director Lisa Jackson Says". Variety , March 15, 2024.
  12. 1 2 3 "Canada's Name the Exoplanet Contest!". Canadian Astronomical Society. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  13. 1 2 Mertz, Emily. "Cree names submitted by Alberta teacher for planet and star win national contest". Global News. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  14. ↑ "Tipiskawi Kisik: Night Sky Star Stories". Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  15. ↑ Radheyan Simonpillai, "‘Wilfred Buck’ documentary explores the journey and wisdom of Indigenous ‘star guy’". Global News, May 14, 2024.
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