For as long as humans have been on this earth, we have looked to the cosmos for information and direction. The Indigenous people of North America used the skies to make sense of their environments and to guide them in planting crops, building villages, and conducting ceremonies. The new exhibition at the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture, Makowa: The Worlds Above Us, showcases a wide range of art, photographs, videos, and more to center the wisdom and longevity of Native astronomy and to remind us that we are all interconnected.On this episode of Encounter Culture, guest consultants for the Makowa exhibition, Misha Pipe and Kaela Waldstein, join host Emily Withnall in the studio to talk about all of this and more.
“Our people have a lot of ties to the cosmos, to … the weather, to our surroundings, to any kind of change in the sky. I think a lot of people notice it when there’s Aurora lights even—we have our own stories about it,” says Pipe. “And so as an adult I think it’s more meaningful and it’s just giving me this opportunity to turn around and say, ‘Okay, now how do I teach my own children these things?’”
“[Jon Ghahate] said … people since ancient times have been looking at these celestial bodies and the stars and they’re the same bodies and stars that exist now for modern day people,” says Waldstein. “I felt like that’s pretty profound ‘cause that draws a connection between people through time. And there’s something really stable and enduring in that whole idea, which, to have that wider perspective and something that can anchor us in really tumultuous times.”
Mentioned in this Episode:
Makowa: The Worlds Above Us exhibition at the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture
“Symphonies in the Skies”: article about Makowa in Summer 2025 issue of El Palacio
“Star Parties, Rim Blown Flutes, and Pueblo History at Jemez Historic Site with Marlon Magdalena,” Encounter Culture podcast episode
Lowell Observatory
Jemez Historic Site (and summer Star Party events)
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Encounter Culture, a production of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, is produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios.
Hosted by Emily Withnall, editor at El Palacio Magazine
Executive Producer: Daniel Zillmann
Technical Director & Post-Production Audio: Edwin R. Ruiz
Recording Engineer: Collin Ungerleider and Kabby at Kabby Sound Studios in Santa Fe
Editor & Production Manager: Alex Riegler
Associate Producer & Editor: Monica Braine (Assiniboine/Lakota)
Theme Music: D’Santi Nava
Instagram: @newmexicanculture and @elpalaciomagazine