- Details
- By Native News Online Staff
Hundreds of Cherokee citizens gathered on the Cherokee Nation Reservation in Tahlequah, Oklahoma to watch the eclipse on Monday afternoon under blue skies with temperatures in the low 80s.
The citizens were joined at the festive 2024 Solar Eclipse Watch Party by Cherokee Nation Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner, along with other Cherokee Nation leaders and students from our immersion school.
Cherokee National Treasurer Robert Lewis told the Cherokee story, “Frog Eats the Sun,” to the pleasure of the school students.
According to Cherokee lore, a giant frog eats the sun or the moon during an eclipse, which causes the earth to go dark. Men and women needed to scare the frog into spitting the sun out, so they created as much noise as they could. The men shot rifles into the air and pounded on drums while the women banged on pots and pans and used shell shakers. Once the frog released the sun which restored balance, the noise turned into a celebration.
The Cherokee Nation provided a telescope for viewing, along with stickball and cornhole for everyone to enjoy.
The next total eclipse in North America will not occur for two decades.
More Stories Like This
South Dakota Governor Condemned for Killing PuppyNative News Weekly (April 28, 2024): D.C. Briefs
Chickasaw Children’s Village Celebrates 20 Years of Nurturing First American Students
Oregon Governor Visits Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
Water Rights Agreement with Colorado River Indian Tribes in Arizona Signed
Native Perspective. Native Voices. Native News.
We launched Native News Online because the mainstream media often overlooks news that is important is Native people. We believe that everyone in Indian Country deserves equal access to news and commentary pertaining to them, their relatives and their communities. That's why the story you’ve just finished was free — and we want to keep it that way, for all readers. We hope you'll consider making a donation to support our efforts so that we can continue publishing more stories that make a difference to Native people, whether they live on or off the reservation. Your donation will help us keep producing quality journalism and elevating Indigenous voices. Any contribution of any amount — big or small — gives us a better, stronger future and allows us to remain a force for change. Donate to Native News Online today and support independent Indigenous-centered journalism. Thank you.