On October 16th, Calgary's Telus Spark Science Centre becomes a meeting ground between ancient and modern ways of reading the sky, as Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and Indigenous scientists gather to share astronomical traditions that have guided communities across generations. Indigenous Science Night: Stones, Stories & Stars is not a museum exhibit of the past — it is a living demonstration that rigorous, meaningful knowledge of the cosmos has always existed outside the Western scientific canon. In a culture that has long treated Indigenous understanding as folklore rather than science, this ev
Indigenous Science Night brings astronomy, storytelling to Calgary's Telus Spark
Science is not one thing—it's multiple ways of knowing.
Mark
What exactly is happening at this event? Is it a lecture, or something more participatory?
Mimi
It's designed to be immersive and multi-sensory. You'll move through stone circles, look through telescopes, sit in a planetarium, hear stories from Elders and Knowledge Keepers. It's not passive.
Luke
Who specifically is leading this? The source mentions Elders and Knowledge Keepers, but doesn't name them. Do we know who's actually there?
Mimi
That's a fair question. The source doesn't provide those names. Dr. Kori Czusy is involved—she's Cree, Métis, and Polish from Treaty 8—but the full roster of speakers and leaders isn't detailed in what's available.
Mark
Why does this matter now? Has there been a push to bring Indigenous astronomy into mainstream science spaces?
Mimi
There's been growing recognition that Indigenous knowledge systems have been excluded from science education for too long. This event is part of that correction—treating Indigenous astronomy as legitimate science, not folklore.
Luke
But the source doesn't actually provide evidence of that broader movement. It's describing one event at one science centre. We shouldn't overstate the momentum.
Mimi
True. What we can say is that Telus Spark is making a deliberate choice to center Indigenous perspectives on science and astronomy.
Mark
What will someone actually take away from spending an evening there?
Mimi
A different way of understanding the sky. The connection between stars and land and community. The idea that science isn't one thing—it's multiple ways of knowing.
Luke
And practically speaking—is this free? What's the cost? How long does it run? The source doesn't say.
Mimi
Those are real gaps. The announcement tells us the date and location and what's happening, but not the logistics that would actually help someone decide to go.
Mark
So it's an invitation, but an incomplete one.
Mimi
Yes. The vision is clear. The details are still missing.
The Pulse
- For generations, Indigenous astronomical knowledge has been excluded from classrooms and science institutions, treated as myth while Western frameworks claimed sole authority over understanding the cosmos.
- Telus Spark is hosting an evening that refuses that separation — bringing stone circles, planetarium presentations, telescopes, and oral storytelling into the same space as a deliberate act of correction.
- Elders and Knowledge Keepers will lead conversations that hold land, sky, and community as inseparable, presenting Indigenous astronomy not as cultural artifact but as living, rigorous science.
- Families and individuals of all ages can move through the evening together — a child seeing Saturn's rings for the first time might immediately hear what that planet means within an Indigenous tradition.
- The event signals a broader shift in how science institutions are beginning to reckon with what mainstream education has long left out, centering Indigenous voices in a space where they have rarely been welcomed.
On October 16th, Calgary's Telus Spark Science Centre becomes a meeting ground between ancient and modern ways of reading the sky, as Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and Indigenous scientists gather to share astronomical traditions that have guided communities across generations. Indigenous Science Night: Stones, Stories & Stars is not a museum exhibit of the past — it is a living demonstration that rigorous, meaningful knowledge of the cosmos has always existed outside the Western scientific canon. In a culture that has long treated Indigenous understanding as folklore rather than science, this evening asks a quiet but consequential question: what have we missed by listening to only one kind of sky-watcher?
On October 16th, Telus Spark Science Centre in Calgary will host Indigenous Science Night: Stones, Stories & Stars — an evening designed to bring two ways of knowing the sky into genuine conversation. Elders, Knowledge Keepers, astronomers, and Indigenous scientists will gather to share what their traditions understand about the connections between land, stars, and the knowledge carried across generations.
The evening weaves together several experiences: stone circles with embedded astronomical meaning, planetarium presentations framed through Indigenous perspectives, telescope viewing, storytelling, and hands-on activities for all ages. Dr. Kori Czusy, who is Cree, Métis, and Polish from Treaty 8 territory, emphasized to CJWE that the framing matters — this is not Indigenous knowledge displayed as historical curiosity, but as legitimate science refined over centuries and still vital today.
What sets the event apart is its refusal to separate culture from knowledge. Conventional science education delivers astronomy as a set of facts stripped of human and spiritual context. Indigenous astronomy holds the sky, the earth, and human community as inseparable — the stars are relatives, teachers, and markers of time, place, and responsibility, not merely distant objects to be measured.
For families moving through the evening together, the connections can be immediate and layered: a child peers through a telescope at Saturn's rings, then hears what that planet means within an Indigenous tradition. An adult encounters a stone circle and recognizes it as a precise astronomical instrument, not merely a ceremonial arrangement. These are the moments the evening is built to create — and for anyone in Calgary curious about how Indigenous peoples have understood the cosmos, October 16th offers a rare chance to learn directly from those who carry that knowledge.
On October 16th, Telus Spark Science Centre in Calgary is hosting an evening that brings together two ways of knowing the sky—the ancient astronomical knowledge embedded in Indigenous cultures and the modern tools that let us see deeper into space. Indigenous Science Night: Stones, Stories & Stars will draw Elders, Knowledge Keepers, astronomers, and Indigenous scientists to share what they understand about the connections between the land, the stars, and the knowledge that has moved through generations.
The event is built around several interlocking experiences. Visitors will encounter stone circles—physical arrangements that carry astronomical meaning—and move through planetarium presentations designed to show the sky as Indigenous peoples have understood it. Telescopes will be set up for direct viewing. Throughout the evening, storytelling will anchor the science: the narratives that explain why certain stars matter, what they mean, how they guided people across seasons and landscapes. There will be hands-on activities for children and adults alike, and spaces for community conversation.
Dr. Kori Czusy, who is Cree, Métis, and Polish, from Treaty 8 territory, spoke with CJWE about the significance of what Telus Spark is attempting. The framing matters: this is not Indigenous knowledge being presented as historical artifact or curiosity. It is being presented as science—as a legitimate, rigorous way of understanding the natural world that has been refined over centuries and remains vital today.
What makes this event distinctive is its refusal to separate culture from knowledge. In most science education, astronomy arrives as a set of facts about distant objects—the composition of stars, the mechanics of orbits, the age of the universe. Those facts are real and important. But they arrive stripped of context, disconnected from the human and spiritual dimensions that give them meaning. Indigenous astronomy, by contrast, holds the sky and the earth and human community as inseparable. The stars are not just objects of study; they are relatives, teachers, markers of time and place and responsibility.
Telus Spark's decision to host this evening speaks to a broader recognition that mainstream science education has left something out. For generations, Indigenous perspectives on astronomy and the natural world have been absent from classrooms, museums, and public discourse. They have been treated as folklore rather than knowledge, as cultural expression rather than scientific understanding. This event is a deliberate correction—an invitation to experience science as Indigenous peoples have practiced it, and to recognize that there are multiple, equally valid ways of asking questions about the world and finding answers.
The event is designed for all ages, which means families can move through it together. A child might stand at a telescope and see Saturn's rings for the first time, then hear a story about what that planet means in an Indigenous astronomical tradition. An adult might encounter a stone circle and realize that what they thought was merely decorative or ceremonial is also a precise astronomical instrument. These moments of connection—between the visible and the meaningful, between individual experience and collective knowledge—are what the evening is structured to create.
For anyone in Calgary with curiosity about how Indigenous peoples have understood and navigated the cosmos, or with interest in expanding what counts as science, October 16th offers a rare opportunity to learn directly from people who carry this knowledge. It is also a chance to be part of a community gathering that centers Indigenous voices in a space—science education—where they have too often been absent.
Notable Quotes
Experience an immersive Indigenous Astronomy Night featuring stone circles, planetarium experiences, telescope viewing, storytelling, and hands-on activities for all ages. Join Elders, Knowledge Keepers, astronomers, and Indigenous scientists as they explore the connections between the land, the sky, and knowledge carried across generations.— Telus Spark Science Centre
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Science & Space