The Aboriginal View and Model of the Unity of Science

Friends and Relatives- Warm Greetings to Each of You!

My name is Tiger Lane. I am 10 years old. I am a member of the White Swan Dakota Oyate and Chickasaw Nation. My Ihanktonwan Dakota name is Mato Gi. It means Brown Bear. It was my grandfather’s name. He gave it to me before he died. His English name is Phil Lane Sr.

I am in Grade 5 at the White Rock Elementary School.

Thank you very much for taking your time to look at my Science Fair Project.

The Aboriginal View and Model of the Unity of Science

Everything within us and outside us can be progressively organized from the Mineral People, to the Plant People, to the Animal People, to the Human People. Each Relative has special Gifts, Powers and Spirit.

When we investigate the Mineral People we find they have the gift, power and spirit of togetherness and unity. The Mineral People unify all the other relatives.

For instance, the “legos” or basic building blocks of the universe are called elements. There are now 118 elements that Scientists have discovered. They are organized in what is called an Atomic Chart or Chart of Basic Elements.

Of these 118 elements, there are 25 elements that are essential to the life of the Plant, Animal and Human People.  Aboriginal Peoples organized the elements into Earth, Air, Water and Fire.

The Mineral, Plant, Animal and Human People are all interrelated and interdependent.  For instance, the Plant People breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen. The Animal People and the Human People breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide.

The Plant People possess the qualities of the Mineral People, plus the gift, power and spirit of growth.

The Animal People possess the qualities of the Mineral and Plant People, plus the gift, power and spirit of the senses, hearing, smelling, tasting, seeing and touching. The Animal People, also, have the gift, power and spirit of movement and memory.

The Human People have the gift, power and spirit of togetherness, growth, the senses, memory, rational thought and free will. My Elders, also, teach me that we Human People have spiritual gifts and powers, as well. These spiritual gifts and powers are developed through our prayers, songs, and ceremonies, as well as, living a good life and being good relatives. Sometimes they are given by dreams and visions.

The Chanupa Wakan, the Sacred Pipe, has many meanings. Many more than I understand. Some of the meanings are about the Physical World, the world we can see and some are about the Spiritual World, the world we can't see. An important meaning of the Sacred Pipe for my Science Fair Project is how everything is related to everything else, including all the branches of science.

The Stone Bowl represents the Mineral People or Kingdom.

Sciences that study the Mineral People are Astrophysics, Geology, Astronomy, Chemistry, Meteorology, Nuclear Physics, Seismology, Petrology, Physics, Mineralogy, Aerodynamics and Ecology.

The Wooden Stem represents the Plant People or Kingdom

Sciences that study the Plant People are Botany, Phytology, Biology, Genetics, Biology, Marine Biology, Forestry, Taxonomy and Ecology.

The Eagle Feather, other animal designs and symbols on the Sacred Pipe and in the Sacred Bundle represent the Animal People or Kingdom

Some of the Sciences that study the Animal People are Zoology, Biology, Anatomy, Entomology, Genetics, Taxonomy, Ornithology, Marine Biology and Ecology.

When we put the Sacred Pipe together and stand the Sacred Pipe upright, with the bowl upward, it represents the Human People. We contain all the Gifts, Powers and Spirit of Life.

Some of the Sciences that study the Human People are Biology, Anthropology, Sociology, Psychology, Anatomy, Genetics and Ecology.

This can be understood as an Aboriginal Model of the Unity of Science