The Pleiades Experience
17 March 2026 - 17 March 2026
1–2 pm
Region(s): Nationwide
Type(s): presentations
Join this free webinar looking at ancestral timekeeping in Polynesia, Mesoamerica and the Andes.
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.
Matariki (Pleiades) star cluster
Wayfinders have used the stars as a compass for millennia.
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.
For more information and to register: https://fulbright.org.nz/the-pleiades-experience-good-works-webinar/.
Related content
Te Kāhui o Matariki – introduction is a handy curattion of our resources on The Matariki star cluster (also known as the Pleiades).
The star compass (kāpehu whetū) uses cardinal directions and 220 stars to show where stars will rise and set on the celestial equator, a very important part of traditional wayfinding. Explore our other resources on navigating without instruments in this introductory article.
Activity ideas
Constellations in the night sky looks at star legends from cultures around the world.
Navigating by the stars introduces students to traditional navigational skills – using the cardinal directions and the Southern Cross.
How’s your memory? involves the memorisation of the star compass components – just like the real navigators.
Compass treasure hunt uses knowledge of the Sun and Moon to make compass directions and uses these directions in a treasure hunt.
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