Shash – Indicator Of Spring

Description

Shash can be translated in Navajo as Bear (pronounced Shaash). The constellation Shash heralds the coming of Spring and Summer. Shash appears in the pre-dawn hours in the early Spring when its nose arises above the horizon. The body of the Bear also begins to appear. In the Navajo clanship system, the bear is the clan protector given to the Towering House clan, Kin Yaa’áanii. People of this clan are said to inherit qualities of leadership, such as a considerate mentality. The natural cycles of Earth and Sky are united by the seasonal processes of the Shash constellation.

Indigenous Education Institute

The Indigenous Education Institute (IEI) is an Indigenous-based, non-profit (501.c3) corporation, based in Friday Harbor, WA. The mission of the Institute is to promote, preserve and apply traditional Indigenous knowledge to contemporary life. This includes research and educational projects of all kinds. IEI is committed to using Indigenous knowledge to promote and understand the importance of the interconnections of all things. IEI is committed to the restoration of imbalance and sustaining an ecologically sound environment.

IEI acknowledges that the earth is an integral part of a much larger universe. Stories are often told in the Indigenous world of the connections between Mother Earth and Father Sky. We are made of the same chemistry as the stars. Studies of Indigenous astronomies illuminate these connections and show the participation of humans in the universe. Our website: http://www.indigenouseducation.org