Update!
Watch the story below Millions of people witness rare total solar eclipse across North America or on YouTube.
SUMMARY
The Choctaw Nation has been preparing for the thousands of visitors expected to flock to the area for the total solar eclipse on April 8.
The path of totality will cross southeastern Oklahoma, plunging a large swath of the Choctaw Nation in darkness for four minutes and 28 seconds.
Ahead of the celestial event, the tribe also unearthed a squirrely tale of its own history.
Dawn Standridge, a cultural research associate for the Choctaw Nation, was fascinated to learn that her tribe had its own explanation for solar eclipses that dates back to one Trail of Tears survivor’s account. Choctaw people shared the tale of Fvni Lusa, a mischievous and hungry black squirrel that tried to eat the sun.
According to the tale, the Choctaw people would make noise by banging pots and pans, and yell at Fvni Lusa to scare him away. Preventing the sun from being devoured meant their crops and plants could grow.
“I didn’t even know we had a story about the eclipse,” said Standridge, who’s helping organize events for the eclipse. “I was excited and glad that we were able to use that story in our programming for this event. It's going to be interesting to see [people] take part and be able to share that with them.”
As the Choctaw Nation sits in the path of totality for the eclipse, experts estimate upwards of 100,000 people are expected to visit Oklahoma to witness the celestial event. Standridge said for viewing parties at the Choctaw Cultural Center and the Wheelock Historical Site, people from across the United States, including New York, Florida and California, have booked reservations for the events.
Organizers for the Choctaw Nation plan to retell the story of Fvni Lusa on the day of the eclipse, encouraging people in attendance to bring pots and pans to scare the critter away.
“It's exciting for us to be able to have all these individuals who come in from everywhere to learn about Choctaw history in the midst of this eclipse,” she said. It’s also a chance to share how the Choctaw people arrived from Mississippi and Alabama during the Trail of Tears, “what they had to endure and what we were able to accomplish when we got here,” she added.
Adam Kemp, Timothy McPhillips, Dan Cooney and Joshua Barajas produced and edited this post. Animations courtesy of Lost Cloud Animation Studio.
Key terms:
path of totality — the area where the moon will fully block out the sun
WARM-UP QUESTIONS
- Who is Dawn Standridge? Who is Fvni Lusa?
- What happens to Fvni Lusa?
- Where is the Choctaw Nation located? Is it in the path of totality?
- When will the total solar eclipse take place?
- Why will the Choctaw people and visitors bang pots and pans during the eclipse?
FOCUS QUESTIONS
Why is the solar eclipse an exciting event for the Choctaw people, according to Standridge?
What do you know about the Trail of Tears?
Media literacy: Why do you think the NewsHour reporters focused on arts and culture to help tell the story of the solar eclipse?
Alternative: See, Think, Wonder: What did you notice? What did the story make you think? What would you want to find out more about?
FOR MORE
What students can do: Learn how the solar eclipse will affect local economies across the path of totality:
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