EAGER: Documenting Gwich'in indigenous astronomy

在派·加里·霍尔顿的指导下，这一迫切的项目利用了一个独特的机会来评估记录阿拉斯加和加拿大土著天文学的可行性。虽然天文学是所有阿拉斯加原住民文化的基本组成部分，但到目前为止，还没有系统的努力来记录阿拉斯加天空的原住民知识。传统土地使用的快速变化导致这种天文数字的知识比土著语言本身更危险。在这个试点项目中，我们将重点放在最可行的阿拉斯加？S·德内语(阿萨巴斯加语)中的格里奇语上。在一年多的档案研究的基础上，该项目将与阿拉斯加格维奇地区的文化承担者合作，用术语记录格维奇？开始、星座和天文事件。该项目将与加拿大Gwich？正在进行的工作密切协调，该工作是在Gwich？in社会文化研究所的主持下进行的。最后，该项目将寻求证实弥漫在德涅河北部语言中的几个主要宇宙学主题的存在。主要的项目成果将是一份描述Gwich？对天空的了解的报告，以及定位于Gwich？in地区的星图。这些材料将通过阿拉斯加土著语言档案馆提供，供学者和教育工作者使用。除了语言学家霍尔顿，项目参与者还包括阿拉斯加大学费尔班克斯大学口述历史馆长莱斯利·麦卡锡和研究生兼天文学教育家克里斯·坎农。

This EAGER project under the direction of PI Gary Holton takes advantage of a unique opportunity to assess the feasibility of documenting indigenous astronomy in Alaska and Canada. Although astronomy is a fundamental component of all Alaska Native cultures, there has so far been no systematic effort to document indigenous knowledge of the Alaskan sky. Rapid change in traditional land use has led to this astronomical knowledge being even more endangered than the indigenous languages themselves. In this pilot project we focus on Gwich?in, the most viable of Alaska?s Dene (Athabaskan) languages. Extrapolating on more than a year of archival research, the project will work with culture bearers in the Alaska Gwich?in region to document Gwich?in terminology for starts, constellations, and astronomical events. The project will coordinate closely with work in progress with Canadian Gwich?in being conducted under the auspices of the Gwich?in Social and Cultural Institute. Finally, the project will seek to corroborate the existence of several major cosmological themes, which permeate Northern Dene languages. The primary project deliverable will be a report describing Gwich?in knowledge of the sky, along with star charts localized to the Gwich?in region. These materials will be made available through the Alaska Native Language Archive to be used by both scholars and educators. In addition to linguist Holton, project participants include Leslie McCarthy, Curator of Oral History at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and Chris Cannon, graduate student and astronomy educator.