Added Potawatomi skyculture

skycultures/CMakeLists.txt

@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ ADD_SUBDIRECTORY( navajo )
 ADD_SUBDIRECTORY( norse )
 ADD_SUBDIRECTORY( norse_edda )
 ADD_SUBDIRECTORY( northern_andes )
+ADD_SUBDIRECTORY( potawatomi )
 ADD_SUBDIRECTORY( romanian )
 ADD_SUBDIRECTORY( ruanui_sky_tahiti_and_society_islands )
 ADD_SUBDIRECTORY( russian_siberian )

skycultures/potawatomi/CMakeLists.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+get_filename_component(skyculturePath "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}" REALPATH)
+get_filename_component(skyculture ${skyculturePath} NAME)
+
+install(DIRECTORY ./ DESTINATION ${SDATALOC}/skycultures/${skyculture}
+        FILES_MATCHING PATTERN "*"
+        PATTERN "CMakeLists.txt" EXCLUDE
+        PATTERN "sagetatorul.png" EXCLUDE)

skycultures/potawatomi/description.md

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+# Potawatomi
+
+## Introduction
+
+Potawatomi (also called Bodwéwadmi and Neshnabé among others) people are Indigenous to North America with ancestral homelands that span the north east to just west of the Great Lakes region and currently reside in both the United States and Canada. While there are dozens of individual tribes or bands within the larger Potawatomi nation, the Potawatomi Star Knowledge project team members who developed this sky culture are enrolled citizens of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi, a federally recognized tribe located in southwestern Michigan.
+
+## Description
+
+### Project Background
+
+This sky culture was developed by the Neshnabé Nengosêk Kenomagéwen (Potawatomi Star Knowledge) Project which is an Indigenous-centered digital humanities effort to sustain and share Potawatomi constellations, celestial stories, and teachings about the movements of the skies. The project’s core purpose is intergenerational: to return star knowledge to everyday use among Potawatomi families, especially youth, while offering non-Native learners a respectful window into a living intellectual tradition. Rooted in Pokagon Band-led star knowledge gatherings (2019) and formalized through the Digital Scholarship Lab incubator at Michigan State University (2023–2024), the project pairs careful cultural protocol with practical technology. By contributing this Potawatomi sky culture that renders Potawatomi constellations, names, narratives, and seasonal practices in place and time we hope to keep the work accessible, sustainable, and accountable (guided by an advisory committee with Potawatomi linguistic and cultural expertise). For the most up-to-date information about the Neshnabé Nengosêk Kenomagéwen (Potawatomi Star Knowledge) Project, please visit: https://www.blairemorseau.com/potawatomi-star-knowledge
+
+Funding for the development of this sky culture has been generously provided by the Michigan State University Digital Humanities Seed Grant: https://digitalhumanities.msu.edu/seed-grant-funding/ 
+
+
+### Artwork
+
+Constellation artwork by Pokagon Band Potawatomi illustrator, Aaron Martin, aligns the digital renderings with traditional Indigenous Woodland-style visual language, reinforcing meaning through culturally resonant design. Together, these choices make the project not only a technical deliverable but a community stewardship model for celestial knowledge and a decolonial teaching tool that centers Potawatomi ways of seeing the night sky.
+
+Please be aware that the artistic renderings of the constellations are the interpretations by one artist. That is, figures may be interpreted differently from community to community and even from person to person within the same community. Because this traditional knowledge spans tribes, bands, and even international borders, we encourage users of this sky culture to respectfully engage with alternative visions of the Potawatomi sky.
+
+### Licenses and Permissions Justification
+
+The artist, Aaron Martin, holds the copyright to his artwork. However, with his permission the visual elements of this sky culture have been made available to the public for educational purposes. We use both a Creative Commons License and Traditional Knowledge Labels to ensure respectful terms of use that align with Potawatomi cultural protocols. For more information, please visit: https://creativecommons.org/ and https://localcontexts.org/labels/traditional-knowledge-labels/
+
+Neshnabé Nengosêk Kenomagéwen (Potawatomi Star Knowledge) Constellation Artwork © 2025 by Aaron Martin is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
+
+#### TK Seasonal (TK S)
+
+This Label is being used to indicate that this material traditionally and usually is heard and/or utilized at a particular time of year and in response to specific seasonal changes and conditions. For instance, many important ceremonies are held at very specific times of the year. This Label is being used to indicate sophisticated relationships between land and knowledge creation. It is also being used to highlight the relationships between recorded material and the specific contexts where it derives, especially the interconnected and embodied teachings that it conveys.
+
+#### TK Non-Commercial (TK NC)
+
+This material has been designated as being available for non-commercial use. You are allowed to use this material for non-commercial purposes including for research, study, or public presentation and/or online in blogs or non-commercial websites. This Label asks you to think and act with fairness and responsibility towards this material and the original custodians.
+
+#### TK Creative (TK CR)
+
+This Label is being used to acknowledge the relationship between the creative practices of Aaron Martin and Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians and the larger Potawatomi nation and the associated cultural responsibilities.
+
+#### TK Community Voice (TK CV)
+
+This Label is being used to encourage the sharing of stories and voices about this material. The Label indicates that existing knowledge or descriptions are incomplete or partial. Any community member is invited and welcome to contribute to our community knowledge about this event, photograph, recording or heritage item. Sharing our voices helps us reclaim our histories and knowledge. This sharing is an internal process.
+
+### Curation Decisions
+
+Several Potawatomi constellations can be represented by different figures and names depending on season and story (e.g., Western “Orion” as Ktthe Sabé, Nenikboz, or Pondésé). For visual clarity in Stellarium, we selected one stick figure and one artwork per constellation but have documented alternatives in this sky culture description so learners understand the plural nature of the tradition rather than a single fixed mapping. Please see the full list of Potawatomi constellations below.
+
+## Constellations
+
+##### Thethak / Wabzhi / Bgak
+
+English Translation: Crane / Swan / Human skeleton-like creature with wings
+
+Corresponding Western Constellation: Summer Cross
+
+##### Bzhêké
+
+English Translation: Bison
+
+Corresponding Western Constellation: Taurus
+
+##### Gigo
+
+English Translation: Fish
+
+Corresponding Western Constellation: Delphinus
+
+##### Pondésé / Ktthe Sabé / Nenikboz
+
+English Translation: Winter Maker / Bigfoot / Nanabozho
+
+Corresponding Western Constellation: Orion (does not have a bow like Nenikboz/Nanabozho does)
+
+##### Mang
+
+English Translation: Loon
+
+Corresponding Western Constellation: Ursa Minor
+
+##### Mdodo Senik
+
+English Translation: Sweat Lodge Stones
+
+Corresponding Western Constellation: Pleiades
+
+##### Mdodoswen
+
+English Translation: Sweat Lodge
+
+Corresponding Western Constellation: Corona Borealis
+
+##### Mëk
+
+English Translation: Beaver
+
+Corresponding Western Constellation: Gemini
+
+##### Mko Shtegwan
+
+English Translation: Bear Head
+
+Corresponding Western Constellation: Summer Triangle
+
+##### Mo’ëwé
+
+English Translation: Wolf
+
+Corresponding Western Constellation: Canis Major
+
+##### Moz
+
+English Translation: Moose
+
+Corresponding Western Constellation: Pegasus
+
+##### Mshignébêk
+
+English Translation: Big Snake
+
+Corresponding Western Constellation: Hydra
+
+##### Mshiké
+
+English Translation: Turtle
+
+Corresponding Western Constellation: Auriga
+
+##### Nambezho
+
+English Translation: Underwater panther
+
+Corresponding Western Constellation: Leo
+
+##### Nenikboz
+
+English Translation: Nanabozho
+
+Corresponding Western Constellation: Scorpius
+
+##### Shkenigshêk égi-nsogmowat
+
+English Translation: Three Brothers Floating in a Canoe
+
+Corresponding Western Constellation: Cassiopeia
+
+##### Wénondeshik
+
+English Translation: One Who is Exhausted
+
+Corresponding Western Constellation: Hercules
+
+##### Wthik
+
+English Translation: Fisher
+
+Corresponding Western Constellation: Ursa Major
+
+
+
+## List of Potawatomi Moons (Months)
+
+| Potawatomi Moon Name | English Translation                 | Corresponding Gregorian Month(s) |
+|----------------------|-------------------------------------|----------------------------------|
+| Mko gizes            | Bear moon                           | January                          |
+| Gon gizes            | Snow moon                           | February                         |
+| Thethak gizes        | Crane moon                          | March                            |
+| Bkonké gizes         | Making separate (of tree bark) moon | April                            |
+| É'démnëké gizes      | Strawberry picking moon             | May                              |
+| Mskwëmnëké gizes     | Raspberry picking moon              | June                             |
+| Nibnë gizes          | Summer (plentiful) moon             | July                             |
+| Nmégwzé gizes        | Lake trout moon                     | August                           |
+| Mzhéwé gizes         | Elk moon                            | September                        |
+| Mnomnëké gizes       | Wild rice harvesting moon           | September/October                |
+| Damno gizes          | Active deer moon                    | October                          |
+| Bné ona gizes        | Smoked turkey moon                  | November                         |
+| Ktthë mko gizes      | Big bear moon                       | December                         |
+
+This list derives from Daniel Bourassa (1843)[^1] who was educated at Carey Mission in Niles, and later in New York and Oklahoma. Different Potawatomi communities (and different families) may have other names for these months.
+
+[^1]: “A Vocabulary of the Po-Da-Wahd-Mih Language for Project 6697 | Smithsonian Digital Volunteers,” accessed February 17, 2026, https://transcription.si.edu/project/6697.
+
+
+## Authors and Project Team
+
+Neshnabé Nengosêk Kenomagéwen (Potawatomi Star Knowledge) Project Team:
+
+Blaire Morseau, PI morseaub@msu.edu
+
+John Foerch, Programmmer
+
+Aaron Martin, Artist
+
+Advisory Board: Michael Zimmerman Jr., Bmejwen Kyle Malott, DeJonay Morseau
+
+
+## License
+
+License (artwork): CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
+
+The artwork in this Sky Culture may be shared, copied, redistributed, and adapted (remix, tweak, build upon) for non-commercial purposes. It requires proper attribution to the creator, indication of changes made, and that new creations are licensed under identical terms.
+
+License (Sky Culture): GNU GPL v2.0
+
+This Sky Culture is provided under GNU General Public License. You can use it for commercial and non-commercial purposes, freely adapt it and share adapted work.