Ancestral timekeeping in Polynesia, Mesoamerica and the Andes.
Join Dr Isabel Hawkins, Astronomer and Fulbright US Global Scholar
⏱️Tuesday, March 17 2026, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM (NZT)
⚫ Register here
For thousands of years, sky watchers have turned to the Sun, Moon, planets — and to one star cluster in particular: the Pleiades. Visible across the world (except Antarctica), the Pleiades has long been a shared celestial marker linking Indigenous knowledge systems across oceans and continents. In Aotearoa New Zealand, Guatemala, and Peru, it is woven into worldviews and practical science alike — from calendaring, navigation, weather prediction, weaving traditions, and agriculture to community teaching and intergenerational memory.
In this presentation Dr Isabel Hawkins shares findings from her Fulbright US Global Scholar collaborative research fellowship (2019–2022), carried out in ancestral lands with Indigenous elders, young adults, and academics. As native language loss and globalisation accelerate, this knowledge is eroding — making documentation, respectful collaboration, and local sharing urgent. As an integral part of her research practice and personal mission, Isabel ensures that findings are returned to host communities — supporting cultural continuity and inspiring future generations of Indigenous astronomers.
