Lakota Moon Cycles

Tracking the moon phases is how many Native American societies kept track of time.

The Lakota moon cycle calendar was a different but effective way to keep track of time.

Time. What is it really? Well, in America time is money and we never have enough of it. In Asia, when God made time, he made plenty of it. The Swiss are so obsessed with time that they have made the most precise watches in the world, while Australian Aborigines don’t even have a word for it. Also, did you know that although it is 2019 in the US, in Saudi Arabia it’s actually the year 1440? Time is a funny thing. Like many things, I guess it’s whatever you make it.

Many indigenous people around the world kept track of time but in a way that suited their lifestyles. I once read that some tribes only had three times of the day; when the sun was rising, when the sun was high in the sky (noon), and when the sun was setting. That meant if someone told you they would meet you when the sun is setting, you had a window of at least several hours of when that person might show up. In our western mentality it can be hard to understand this. One well-known way Native Americans kept track of yearly time was based on the moon cycle. If you are reading Jemmey Fletcher: Shinin’ Times you know that one of the characters kept track of time this way. So, you might be wondering, how did it work?

Well, rather than retelling a story that’s already been well-told, click this link to take you to the Lakota Museum and Cultural Center’s webpage on how the Lakota moon cycle works.

As you may have noticed, this way of keeping time isn’t as inefficient as our modern minds might think. As you continue to read the Jemmey Fletcher series, I hope this information helps you better understand the world they were living in.