Comparing the Sixth Moon

Last week, we explored two questions:

• Why is the turtle important to different Indigenous cultures around the world?

• How do Indigenous calendars connect with local plant, animal, and weather cycles?

If you don't remember what you learned last week, go back to lesson on Indigenous Moons and the Turtle to check it out.

We learned that the monthly and yearly cycles of animals, plants, and weather are very important to Indigenous peoples around the world because knowledge of these cycles helped people prepare and be ready for the changes that come with each season. The moons were named based on the knowledge of these cycles, after thousands of years of experience living in their lands. Special stories were told, and specific cultural and economic activities happened during each moon time. The moons helped people keep track of different times and events during the year, just like we use a calendar today.

How does this connect with turtles? Turtles have 13 large scutes, which represent the 13 moons in a year, and there are 28 small scutes, which represent the days in each moon. The turtle was a visual symbol of the months and days in a year.

Let's look at three moons from different Indigenous cultures in North America. They all occur in the Sixth Moon cycle of the year.

Raw Berry Moon - The Sixth Moon of the Haida People

Where do the Haida live? The Haida People live on the group of islands named Haida Gwaii in the Pacific Ocean, along the west coast of the area now known as the Province of British Columbia, close to the state of Alaska.

What cycles in nature do the Haida observe during the Sixth Moon in their lands? During the Sixth Moon, berry bushes are blossoming, getting ready to grow fruit. These berries include salmonberries, strawberries, red and blue huckleberries, salal berries, cloudberries, and cranberries.

Learn more: What is it like to visit Haida Gwaii? Watch a story: The Girl who talks to the Moon. Learn about the creator of the story, "The Girl who Talks to the Moon."

CENTEKI (Sockeye Salmon) Moon - The Sixth Moon of the WSANEC People

Where do the WSANEC People live? The WSANEC People traditionally lived throughout the areas now know as the San Juan and Gulf Islands in BC and Washington, and on the east and north coasts of the Saanich Peninsula. The WSANEC are known as the Salt Water People because the sea was very important to their way of life.

What cycles in nature do the WSANEC observe during the Sixth Moon in their lands? During the Sixth Moon, the sockeye salmon returns. Special ceremonies were performed at the start of CENTEKI to honour the salmon. Because of their location at the ocean, the WSANEC people were the first to catch salmon each year. Other First Nations peoples were waiting for the salmon to come up river. This allowed the WSANEC to fish for salmon a full month earlier than inland peoples, and gave them a trading advantage.

Learn more: Learn songs, phrases, stories, and play games in SENCOTEN, the language of the WSANEC people.

Putting it all together: Let's go back to our question today:

• Why do different Indigenous cultures have different names for moons?

What did you notice about the different moons? Even though the Sixth Moon happens at the same time everywhere, the cycles of nature are different in different places. Specific plant, animal, and weather patterns are observed depending on where you are. Because of this, the traditions, stories, and names for each moon are specific and unique to each different indigenous people.