MARYBOY
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ty to meet and talk with her. In his
own archaeological and anthropo
logical research, Clark studies the
Mayan culture of Mesoamerica.
Because of Maryboy’s research,
Clark said he became inspired to
think about what he sees around
him and in the sky in new ways,
as well as the connections between
Maya, Navajo and Cherokee as
tronomy.
“I really enjoy having the opportu
nity to participate in and learn from
conversations involving many dif
ferent indigenous cultures, wheth
er Navajo, Cherokee or Maya, and
where they find common ground or
have contrasting experiences and
cosmologies,” Clark said.
During the discussion, Maryboy
described her perspective on things
such as how solar eclipses are
viewed and the ashes of deceased
people being sent to the moon.
When Eugene M. Shoemaker,
planetary geologist, passed away,
his ashes were sent in a capsule to
the moon. This caused a lot of de
bate through different religions and
cultures around the world.
“I'd heard the story about Shoe
maker's ashes before, but it had
never occurred to me what that ac
tion would mean to people whose
religion regards the moon as a sa
cred being,” Staton said. “Thinking
about it now. I'm appalled.”
Maryboy said she did not think
much of the latest solar eclipse and
did not know the event was taking
place until she noticed the shadows
changing shapes.
When she was growing up, Mary
boy got a chance to see an eclipse.
She pushed a bucket of water under
the chimney and watched the re
flection so she could see an eclipse
for herself.
Staton said she thinks a burial in
space could be interesting, but she
does not think a group of people
should be able to claim the moon in
such a way. Placing someone’s re
mains on the moon could be seen as
disrespectful to cultures who view
the moon as sacred.
“In culture everything makes
sense, everything has a meaning,”
Maryboy said.
Staton said she encourages other
students to take advantage of guest
speakers coming to campus. The
events create a space where a stu
dent can learn more about a topic
of interest and meet experts in the
particular field.
Looking forward to attending
more events in the future, Clark
said he hopes to see more events
similar to the Cherokee and Nava
jo Perspectives on the Sky come to
campus. He said the more cultures
and religions UNCA can bring to
campus, the more connections can
be discovered.
Clark said sharing information
across disciplinary borders acti
vates and stimulates new ways of
thinking and approaching topics
like astronomy, language, literature,
religion, physics and mathematics.
“If this encourages us, whether
we are Native or non-Native, to re
flect on our own understandings of
the universe and our place within
it, then we've accomplished some
thing significant,” Clark said.
Nancy Maryboy speaks about Navajo cultures impact on astronomy.