Kanesatake was just outside the zone of total eclipse Monday, but community members who stayed in town had the chance to see the moon nearly envelop the sun, while others made the trek to get a taste of totality and an experience they’ll never forget.
“We were excited,” said Maria Canatonquin, who gathered with family on her balcony in the heart of Kanesatake to watch the eclipse with juice and snacks.
“It felt good to be with the people you love during that time,” she said. “I know for some people it wasn’t a big deal, but I think it was a nice time to be together for something so monumental.”
TNCMS.AdManager.init
(
domain: “www.pentictonherald.ca”,
secureDomain: “pentictonherald.ca”,
virtualregion:
popup: __tnt.ads.popup
,
callback:
expandable: __tnt.ads.expandable,
html: __tnt.ads.html,
image: __tnt.ads.image,
pagecurl: __tnt.ads.curl,
text: __tnt.ads.text,
video: __tnt.ads.video
);
It was the first time Canatonquin has seen an eclipse – she is aware of one other partial eclipse when she was a child, but she has no recollection of it, she said.
“I’m glad we took the time to check it out,” said Canatonquin.
While partial eclipses happen from time to time, Quebec hasn’t experienced a total eclipse for over 50 years, and it’ll be more than 80 years until the next one. In the Oka area, the eclipse was nearly 99.9 percent complete at the apex, which took place at 3:26 p.m. on April 8.
Kanesatake Education Center (KEC) schools were closed for the afternoon to give students a chance to appreciate the celestial event and help ensure they kept safe – looking directly at a partial eclipse without specialized glasses can cause permanent retinal damage.
Fortunately, the KEC was able to distribute the eclipse glasses to students.
“My five-year-old, Addy, was impressed by the sight,” said Mohawk Council of Kanesatake (MCK) chief Amy Beauvais, who leads the health and social portfolio. She reminded community members on social media about safety protocols ahead of the eclipse.
“I like to think that for a brief moment we were all united in curiosity and adoration at the solar spectacle that took place above us,” she said.
Kanawaién:ton Jacob Cree, owner of the Skywatcher Alpaca Farm, wanted to witness the full spectacle, so he wasn’t in Kanesatake for the eclipse – but his alpacas were.
“I even got lucky that my security camera on my farm captured the moment in Kanesatake when the eclipse was at its darkest, like 90 percent,” he said. “My alpacas were running and play fighting with each other and acting differently than usual.”
Cree himself watched the total eclipse from a rooftop in Montreal with his girlfriend.
“I’m definitely a space enthusiast – I love to know all I can about the expanse,” he said. While others were scrambling to locate eclipse glasses as the big day drew near, Cree bought his pair months ago. But he still wasn’t fully prepared for what he experienced.
“For me, it hit me unexpectedly. I got a little emotional when it was totally eclipsed, how dark and quiet the city was, going from a bright sunny day to night, with the city in complete darkness,” he said.
“I found the moon and the sun’s corona to be so beautiful. That I didn’t expect, how it just captured my gaze, and I couldn’t look away – definitely a life experience I’ll never forget, and I got to share it with someone I love.”
Kanehsata’kehró:non Jasmin Gunn also had a chance to cross into the zone of totality.
“We crawled up onto the roof for the best view, prepared beer and snacks, put on some special shades and tunes, and watched the big fire ball get snuffed out,” she said. “Pretty worth it for just those few seconds where it feels like maybe the sun won’t come back.”
