North Star - Wayfinding
Guided by the North Star
Métis travelers used the North Star or litwel di norr in the Michif language to find their cardinal points north, south, east and west. Travelling along the riverways in a birch bark canoe or York boat following the path of the water easily over hundreds of kilometres. During the 17th and 18th centuries the fur trade spanned across Rupertsland. Explorations took the trade over the Rocky Mountains and to the west coast. Finding their way is important as they travel during everchanging weather conditions over rough terrain. Métis communities grew and they following bison herds on horseback or on foot with supplies loaded on red river carts. Navigating overland involved a set of skills gained from indigenous ways of knowing and understanding the interconnectedness of the landscape and celestial objects. A lodgepole pine could act as a signpost as well as the position of a constellation in the night sky to indicate direction.
Finding the East-West Line Using a Stick in Sunlight:
A person who is lost can find the general directions of north, south, east, and west by using a stick and two rocks on a sunny day. Place a stick upright into the ground and mark the shadow it creates with a rock. Wait 10-15 minutes, then mark the new shadow with the other rock. Tracing a line in between results in a rough east-west line. The first mark represents the west, and the last mark represents the east, since shadows move eastward throughout the day due to the Sun’s westward apparent motion in the sky. Marking a line perpendicular to the east-west line will give a north-south line.
Finding the North Star
Litwel Di Norr, or Polaris, can be found using the Big Dipper asterism. First, find the two stars at the front edge of the “cup”, opposite the handle. Imagine a line between these two stars. Look along that line in the direction from the star at the bottom edge of the cup to the star at the top edge. The first star you will see is Litwel Di Norr. Since Earth’s axis is pointing towards it, its position in the night sky remains fixed, pointing north, acting as a reliable compass. This points towards the north direction. South, east, and west directions can now be determined.
Rotation of the Earth
The Sun rises in the east and sets in the west, appearing to move westward across Earth’s sky. This apparent motion of the Sun is a result of Earth’s rotation about its axis. Looking down at Earth’s north pole, the Earth rotates in a counterclockwise motion. It is this motion that is responsible for the existence of day and night. Throughout the day, shadows will change direction and length. Shadows are longest when the Sun is lowest at the horizon, during sunrise and sunset. Shadows are shortest during solar noon, when the Sun is the most direct in the sky. UV radiation is the highest at this time. The direction of shadows is opposite to the source of sunlight and changes with the Sun’s movement. Shadows will face westward in the morning and slowly shift throughout the day to face eastward before sunset.
Axial Tilt
Both the northern and southern hemispheres experience seasons. This is caused by the Sun appearing more directly overhead in the sky during summer while being the lowest during winter. The days in summer are longer because it will take longer for the Sun to rise to and set from its highest position in the sky, solar noon, when it is more direct. The mix of higher solar radiation and longer exposure to sunlight causes the land to become hotter during summer. The opposite occurs during winter. The apparent change in the Sun’s directness throughout the year occurs because Earth is tilted 23.5 degrees in the direction of the North Star: litwel di norr, or Polaris. Throughout Earth’s orbit around the Sun, Earth’s tilt causes the northern hemisphere to change from pointing the least to the most directly towards the Sun, while the southern hemisphere experiences the opposite.
