Papers by Chris Cannon
Lower Tanana Dene Dictionary, 2024
Description of the Lower Tanana (Dena) whole-sky constellation, Nogheyoli. Appendix H1-6 (pp. 605... more Description of the Lower Tanana (Dena) whole-sky constellation, Nogheyoli. Appendix H1-6 (pp. 605-09) in Lower Tanana Dene Dictionary, compiled and edited by James Kari.
Arctic, 2022
Indigenous systems of stellar wayfinding are rarely described or robustly attested outside of mar... more Indigenous systems of stellar wayfinding are rarely described or robustly attested outside of maritime contexts, with few examples reported among peoples of the high Arctic and some desert regions. However, like other large-scale environments that exhibit a low legibility of landmarks, the barrenlands of the Northwest Territories and the Yukon Flats of Alaska generally lack views of prominent or distinguishing topography for using classic route-based navigation. When travelling off trails and waterways in these respective inland subarctic environments, the Yellowknives Dene and the Alaskan Gwich'in utilize drastically different stellar wayfinding approaches from one another while essentially sharing the same view of the sky. However, in both systems the use of celestial schemata is suspended in favor of route-based navigation when the traveller intersects a familiar geographical feature or trail near their target destination, suggesting strong preference for orienting by landmarks when available. A comparison of both wayfinding systems suggests that large-scale environments that lack a readily discernible ground pattern may be more conducive to the development and implementation of a celestial wayfinding schema when combined with other influential factors such as culture, individual experience, and travel behavior. These are likely the first stellar wayfinding systems described in detail for any inland subarctic culture.
Arctic Anthropology, 2019
The sky is routinely overlooked in Northern Dene ethnology as a meaningful domain of linguistic a... more The sky is routinely overlooked in Northern Dene ethnology as a meaningful domain of linguistic and cultural knowledge. However, a decade of comparative ethnological research in Alaska and Canada has shown that Dene stellar knowledge is largely tied to sacred and covert knowledge systems. In this paper, we describe an Ahtna, Gwich'in, and Sahtúot'ı̨nę constellation identified as the incarnated spirit of an ancient Traveler-Transformer figure who circled the world in Distant Time. Although this Traveler is widely known in mythology, his enigmatic transformation to the sky embodies a specialized domain of knowledge rooted in the traditional beliefs and practices of medicine people. This "Traveler" constellation is not only a world custodian and archetype of an idealized medicine person, but it is also a teacher, ally, gamekeeper, and the embodiment of the world. We identify variations of this constellation throughout the Northern Dene region.
Traditional approaches to the documentation of indigenous astronomical knowledge often assume a o... more Traditional approaches to the documentation of indigenous astronomical knowledge often assume a one-to-one or near one-to-one correspondence between indigenous and classical constellation terms. Only a single constellation, equated with the Big Dipper, is robustly attested across the Northern Dene languages. Here we provide evidence from Gwich’in (Dene) which shows that the equation of this single Gwich’in constellation with the classical constellation is only partial. The Gwich’in constellation yahdii is actually a whole-sky constellation which maps nearly the entire sky. The Big Dipper is the tail of yahdii, and the remaining stars in the constellation are identified by other Gwich’in body part terms, forming a unified functional conceptualization of the sky. Our work demonstrates how observational and cultural biases can prejudice the description of cultural astronomy. Dene astronomy is much richer than has been previously claimed and provides the first well-documented indigenous example of a whole-sky constellation.
Teaching Documents by Chris Cannon
Alaska Native Language Center, 2020
Dinjii Zhuh K’yàa Yahdii / Yahdii in the Native Tradition: A Gwich’in (Dene) Star Chart is a prod... more Dinjii Zhuh K’yàa Yahdii / Yahdii in the Native Tradition: A Gwich’in (Dene) Star Chart is a product of more than a decade of research with Gwich’in traditional knowledge bearers and the first-ever star chart for a Northern Dene language. As a whole-sky constellation, the chart depicts the spirit of the ancient Gwich’in Traveler-Transformer figure, Ch’iteehàawkaii, arched over Earth as a teacher, protector, ally, and the embodiment of the world who continues to travel overhead on his snow-packed Milky Way trail.
A 27 x 39 inch poster printed on glossy cardstock. Copies available at the Alaska Native Language Center:
https://epay.alaska.edu/C21563_ustores/web/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCTID=5956&SINGLESTORE=true
Thesis Chapters by Chris Cannon
Ph.D. Dissertation, 2021
The sky and its contents are routinely overlooked in Northern Dene ethnology as a meaningful part... more The sky and its contents are routinely overlooked in Northern Dene ethnology as a meaningful part of linguistic and cultural knowledge. However, more than 11 years of primary fieldwork learning with and from elders, speakers, and culture bearers from 12 Northern Dene groups across 32 communities in Alaska and Canada has shown that astronomical knowledge is deeply rooted in both practical and sacred ways of knowing. With a focus on detail and breadth, this comparative ethnological study utilized an experience-based approach to investigate the ways in which Northern Dene Peoples perceive, conceptualize, and integrate the sky and its contents into systems of knowledge, practices, worldview, cosmology, and spirituality. At the center of these knowledge systems is a principal constellation often identified as the incarnated spirit of a Traveler-Transformer figure who circled the world in Distant Time. Although this Traveler is widely known in Dene mythology as the one who instilled balance and order in the world, his enigmatic transformation to the sky was traditionally known by spiritually gifted people. The “Traveler” constellation is not only a world custodian and archetype of an idealized medicine person, but it is also a teacher, ally, gamekeeper, and the embodiment of the world. Taken together, the Traveler on earth and in the sky provides a powerful conceptual model for behaviors and actions as a central organizing principle and locus of indigenous Northern Dene worldview, cosmology, and spirituality. Two other subsequent chapters focus on general concepts of stars, minor constellations, and the use of stars in time-reckoning, weather forecasting, and wayfinding. These are followed by a chapter pertaining to the sun and moon as animate and personified beings that also embody fundamental models for proper behaviors and actions. The final chapter, prior to the conclusion, centers on socio-cosmic relationships between the Dene and a host of highly sentient atmospheric phenomena that bridge the divide between the upper cosmos and the lived world of humans. Collectively, this work underscores that the earth and sky are not exclusive of one another but are part and parcel to a unified Northern Dene cosmology and worldview that are deeply grounded in relational significances. This is among relatively few book-length studies in anthropology on the indigenous astronomical knowledge, perceptions, and practices of any extant culture in the world.
Book Reviews by Chris Cannon
Alaska Journal of Anthropology, 2023
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Papers by Chris Cannon
Teaching Documents by Chris Cannon
A 27 x 39 inch poster printed on glossy cardstock. Copies available at the Alaska Native Language Center:
https://epay.alaska.edu/C21563_ustores/web/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCTID=5956&SINGLESTORE=true
Thesis Chapters by Chris Cannon
Book Reviews by Chris Cannon
A 27 x 39 inch poster printed on glossy cardstock. Copies available at the Alaska Native Language Center:
https://epay.alaska.edu/C21563_ustores/web/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCTID=5956&SINGLESTORE=true