Hinhan Kaga & Seeing the Stars

Kevin Locke

Learn ABOUT (deep listening, information)

1. What is “light pollution” and how wide- spread is it in the US?

2. Where is Harney Peak? How was it originally named, and what has happened in the discussions around legally changing its name?

3. What are the stories around Lakota star knowledge and the Wanagi Canku?

4. What is the connection between Hinhan Kaga, the mountain and Hinhan Kaga, the star?

5. How are Identity and Names tied together in the traditional Oceti Sakowin ways of being?

6. What has research told us about children who grow up without much access to the natural environment? (see Nature Deficit Disorder)

Learn FROM (deep sharing, transformation)

1. What experiences have you had in looking at and learning about the stars?

2. What beliefs did you grow up with concerning the afterlife? Have those beliefs changed for you?

3. What experiences do you have with special clothing, regalia or uniforms that say something about the identity or integrity of the wearer?

4. How much interaction with the natural environment do you have? How does that interaction impact or change you?

5. What traditions does your family or community have in relation to remembering loved ones who have passed on? How do these practices impact things like “legacy” or that loved one’s “afterlife journey”?