Lead Me to Places I Could Never Find on My Own I & II

Meryl McMaster

Print on aluminum

Stories of the constellations have been passed down over generations within both Indigenous and non-Indigenous cultures. Humans and animals have used the stars to navigate for thousands of years and still do to this day. As the stars become hidden by light pollution, we start to lose our way. This image was taken at the Badlands in Grasslands National Park, a Dark Sky Preserve and a preservation area for one of the largest tracts of natural grassland in North America. The Badlands landscape revel isolated buttes, weathered outcroppings, and eroded gullies. Perched atop my hat are the Indigo Bunting Birds who use the stars to navigate. Carrying the universe, they lead me to the stars as I seek answers in the sky.