U of T Partners with Indigenous School on Astronomy Education
Asmi Khanna, Writer
Image Source: Science Friday
On April 8, 2024, under a clear sky above Chiefswood Park on Six Nations of the Grand River, a rare moment unfolded that brought together science and tradition. Students, teachers, and caregivers from Toronto’s Kâpapâmahchakwêw, also known as Wandering Spirit School, joined astronomers from the University of Toronto’s Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics to witness the awe-inspiring sight of a total solar eclipse.
Through telescopes equipped with solar filters, the young learners watched as the moon gradually crossed the face of the sun, revealing sunspots and eventually shrouding the landscape in eerie twilight. The astronomers explained the celestial mechanics, while students and community members shared their own knowledge of the skies. What might have been a purely scientific field trip instead became a meeting of minds and traditions, a chance for Indigenous and academized perspectives to merge in wonder at the same natural event.
The eclipse viewing was not a stand-alone activity. It formed part of a broader initiative called Stars in Shared Skies, a partnership between the Dunlap Institute and Wandering Spirit School. The collaboration, launched in 2022, is built around a philosophy of reciprocity and co-learning. It seeks to enrich science education for Indigenous students while inviting U of T faculty and students to learn about cultural traditions that have long placed the stars at the center of storytelling and worldview.
Founded in 1977, Wandering Spirit School is an Indigenous-led institution that serves students from kindergarten through Grade 12. Its curriculum is rooted in Anishinaabe cultural traditions, with emphasis on both academic subjects and cultural teachings. The partnership with U of T extends this vision by giving students access to university-level resources in astronomy and astrophysics. Upcoming initiatives include a coding club, mentoring and tutoring opportunities, and specialized training for teachers. These projects are designed to create sustained learning opportunities rather than one-off events.
For Principal Elise Twyford, the collaboration is as much about equity and representation as it is about science. “Wandering Spirit School is grateful for the growing partnership with Dunlap because it provides an opportunity to practise reciprocity in knowledge sharing,” she said. “The students and community learned about astrophysics and astronomy, and also had the opportunity to build their skills in sharing traditional knowledge and world views.” Twyford emphasized that such exchanges highlight the value of Indigenous voices in areas that have historically been dominated by Western perspectives.
The origins of the program reflect this goal. In 2022, U of T’s Indigenous partnership adviser, Emma Stromberg, and Associate Professor Susan Hill, then director of the Centre for Indigenous Studies, approached Dunlap with a question: how could the resources of the university be mobilized in a way that truly served Indigenous students? The solution was to create a long-term relationship, one that was not extractive but instead rooted in mutual benefit. Stromberg explained that the partnership was aligned with U of T’s commitments to reconciliation, noting that it is “incumbent on all of us to think of ways to redress … the impacts of settler colonialism and push resources into the community wherever possible.”
For the astronomers involved, the April eclipse offered a vivid reminder of why outreach matters. Associate Professor Suresh Sivanandam, interim director of the Dunlap Institute, described the sheer joy of the event. “You could hear lots of kids screaming in excitement and people gasping in awe at seeing totality,” he recalled. “When I walked out of there, I thought, these are the moments in my job where I feel completely fulfilled because I helped other people experience the joy of astronomy.”
Professor Roberto Abraham, chair of the David A. Dunlap Department of astronomy and astrophysics, echoed that sentiment. He was the same age as many of the students when he saw his first total solar eclipse. The memory still moves him. “It was magic,” he said. “Once you see a total solar eclipse, you won’t be the same person afterwards.”
These events are not only about igniting excitement. They also seek to create pathways into science that many Indigenous students may not otherwise encounter. Earlier this year, Sivanandam and Abraham visited Wandering Spirit School to meet with staff and students, listening to their ideas for how astronomers could best support learning. For Principal Twyford, the effects were immediate. “Many students now see the wonder and possibility of these sciences and are even more motivated to continue their learning,” she observed. “It also helps to complement the traditional and cultural.”
The collaboration highlights a growing recognition in Canadian academia that astronomy can serve as a bridge between knowledge systems. Indigenous traditions across North America include sophisticated understandings of the night sky, from constellations that guide seasonal activities to teachings that shape cultural identity. As U of T assistant professor and Mi’kmaw astrophysicist Hilding Neilson has argued, viewing astronomy solely through a Western lens is limiting. Indigenous sky knowledge, when shared in partnership, enriches and expands the field.
This approach has parallels at other institutions. At McMaster University, the course Two-Eyed Seeing and Astronomy invites Indigenous and non-Indigenous students to learn astronomy through both Western science and Indigenous traditions. Physics and astronomy professor Robert Cockcroft, who developed the program, notes that astronomy is “one of the most accessible disciplines to non-experts” and hopes the inclusion of Indigenous knowledge will help reshape reconciliation in education.
For students at Wandering Spirit School, the lessons of the April eclipse may last a lifetime. Beyond the excitement of seeing the sun vanish and reappear, they experienced astronomy not as something distant, but as something alive, connected to their culture, and open to their participation. For the astronomers, the experience affirmed the value of stepping beyond the university campus and into reciprocal learning relationships.
Under the shared sky, both groups found common ground. The eclipse was a moment of awe, but also a metaphor for a new way of learning together. As partnerships like Stars in Shared Skies continue to grow, they point to a future where science is not only about discovery, but also about reconciliation, representation, and respect.
