The 13 WSANEC Moons

Today we are part of a world that uses clocks and calendars and “daylight savings time” but we once used a system that was better for us.
Before the coming of the Europeans we were in touch with nature and used the universe as a giant clock. Our culture and survival depended on the time of man and nature being one, so much so that we planned our lives around it. The moons told us of a change in weather and signaled our food gathering, spiritual, and social activities.
Because we are Saltwater People, who once lived as much on the sea as on the land, the tides were the clock that fixed our daily activities. The moon that signaled winter storms also warned us to put our paddles away and stay on land. Some moons were also signs to prepare for the annual cycle of the reef net fishery that distinguished us from other people. As a people without any major rivers we learned to create artificial reefs when the salmon passed through our Straits.
Our calendar has thirteen moons rather than twelve months. The names of the moons signify their origin and their purpose. In our tradition–like the names of places and persons they are sacred–they explain their place in the universe. We shared this calendar with the animals. Science now confirms what we have always known–that the Salmon People use the moons and the sun to navigate and to know when to come back to us.
The Salmon People and the animals still follow this age old calendar.

Sourced from Racerocks.ca

Though I missed our lovely class discussion on this topic, I have thought a lot about how I would like to honour Indigenous ways of knowing time in the classroom. Here is an attempt at a school year with respect to this land’s calendar and benchmarks, thank you to First Voices for providing all the background images, research and context for each of these moons.

The WSANEC moons of the Saltwater People (the Straits Salish People) are an excellent way to keep track of our year as a classroom community, though sometimes education departments make some odd decisions and start your school year right at the 5th last moon! How confusing! All good though, we’re good at being adaptive. It’s the CENQOLEW moon and the dog salmon are returning to the earth. Just like these salmon, the world is becoming red and orange to match the seafaring travelers. The creeks and rivers rise with the rising moisture, much like how our minds resaturate with our school communities, with the anticipation of all the exciting new knowledge and stories coming our way. As the saltwater people preserve some foods, we ask you, dear students, what cherished moments from your summer moons will you treasure and preserve in your mind?

Once we’re settled into the red, no sooner does the next moon turn it all white. The earth gets frosty and settles into the ground, as we settle into our chairs and carpets, more situated in our community. The PEKELANEW moon turns our world white with frost, and the Saltwater people get cedar ready to make canoes in the winter. We pick our favourite reading nook, our favourite desk, our favourite tree to hang at recess. The WESELÁNEW moon brings the cold and rain, and this may also be when you feel rainy yourselves, students. What rain clouds nestle within you that the darker days may bring up in your chests? The Saltwater people made fires at this time to bring some warmth, how can we bring warmth to each other during this moon? With the arrival of the SJELCASEN moon it only gets more temperamental in our environment, it is the season to put away your canoe paddles afterall and steer clear of a sea far more dangerous and powerful than us. Perhaps we feel trapped on land, but there are little treasures to this short and indoor time. The Saltwater people use the time to dig for clams and weave and teach, so perhaps we should in turn find our own artistic outlets for what we have pondered in the moons prior. Best of all, let’s repair things we may have broken and preserve their lifespan- let’s mend clothes, and fix our toys and paint our furniture and keep our items special to us and away from the many landfills. I promise students to fill your days with stories and new books and new speakers and new pictures, the limited daylight we have is precious and our ability to get lost in stories extends it by years and decades and millennia.

It is fitting that we leave each other briefly during the SIS,ET moon, the moon that recognizes our elders. We go back to our homes and our families and dedicate many lost hours to re-centering our familial toys and relearning our family stories. Do any of your grandparents visit you during this moon when school is on pause? Do any aunts or uncles? Older siblings? The Saltwater people know how far we are from the sun during this time, and as such we need to find light in our homes. It’s okay if your home isn’t your house, by the way. Home is where your heart feels the lightness. Perhaps you’ll finish this moon with a big turkey, the Saltwater people will have duck, or maybe you’ll simply feel full with all the old-new stories you need to hear before you come back to us. Remember them well!