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Navigation Techniques

Source: National Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Hopkins Collection, 1869

	Navigation is the science of getting from place to place: of determining where you are, where you’re going and how far you’ve already come. The purpose of navigation is to travel as safely and efficiently as possible. Our ancestors relied on navigation to trade goods and haul freight throughout the year. Access to major waterways became the wealth of the Nation, the tribe, the clan or the family unit. While we can’t be sure of all the navigation methods our ancestors used, there is ample evidence they were great distance travellers. We can make some pretty good guesses about how they navigated the complex river systems of Turtle Island by listening to stories and examining the evidence they left behind. For instance, throughout the network of waters connected to the Churchill River, pictographs painted on rocky banks indicate how extensively it was used for travel.
	Source: Aboriginal Rock Art
	Pictograph Sites Along the Churchill River
	Source Aboriginal Rock Art

Along the interconnecting waterways of the Churchill River system, shortcuts, stopping places and journey markers were established to provide information about the journey’s progression. Travellers gave these places names that held special meanings:

Turn-back Corner, if you reached this point after the geese have flown it is advisable to turn back
Desolation Creek, a place where no food can be found;
and even, Dress-up Creek, a place to dress up before entering town.

	Native American Sign Language, the precursor to the modern day sign language used by the hearing impaired, was also a valuable travel tool for long journeys. This silent language was developed as a universal translator, which allowed travellers to acquire information such as where to find water, the closest river or good hunting grounds. The language was not only used to gather information but also to communicate intentions such as "just passing through". By using sign language a traveller could assure his host that he had no hostile intentions. The people of the Plains developed Native American Sign Language. It contained hundreds of signs and was used between different groups such as the Sioux. Early European settlers also adopted this language to talk to their Aboriginal neighbours.	Source: Indian Sign Language
	Source: Virtual Museum of New France	Our ancestors were the guides for other explorers, travelers (such as traders) and other tribal groups. Before navigational tools such as the compass, sextant and maps were introduced to the Americas, our ancestors navigated by closely observing their environment. These methods worked very effectively: well enough for groups or clans to travel hundreds and sometime thousands of miles to visit one another during potlatch gatherings. Knowledge about traveling from one area to the next was passed down from generation to generation through the oral tradition and experience gained from travelling between seasonal camps. This tradition remains. Many of today’s Aboriginal trappers, fishermen and adventure tour operators say they learned to navigate the waters by learning from and honouring the ways of their parents and grandparents.

They were taught to:

Observe different weather patterns as part of their navigation method.
Notice the cyclical patterns of seasons and the movement of animals, since these two elements could mean the difference between life and death.
Analyse the entire situation. Using the mind for critical thinking, getting beyond one’s difficulties is emphasized in the Cree name for the mind, mam-tu-nahn-ni-chigan, the thinking tool. Taking the entire situation in account can often help resolve difficult situations.
Prepare through skills learned from their Elders such as paddling, portage, boat maintenance and repair. These and other indigenous skills are part of a growing curriculum in traditional schools of learning.

Develop the ability to work under pressure. The following story is an illustration of this skill.

Source Welcome to Sacred Wolf Dreams' Spirit World

The Lost Traveller and the Wolf Spirit

…An Indian told me that several years back he left his lodge on the borders of a large Lake to go to the house [fur trade post] for some necessaries he wanted. He took a traverse for some islands - the weather was dull but mild: a storm very soon set in but he persevered: thinking the wind had changed, he also changed his course.

	He became very fatigued and laid down on the ice to rest himself and wait for daylight for the night had overtaken him. He was not long down before reflecting on his situation he became extremely uneasy and was afraid of freezing. At last he heard a curious noise near him that he could not account for: at first his fears increased greatly dreading it was some malignant spirit: but having no alternative he resigned himself to his fate. "and I became composed as tho’ I were safe; and I was too: for an animal, much resembling a Wolf and black, came up and covered me; I was very cold, shivering in every limb, but I soon became quite warm; he rose from off me and went on as if inviting me to follow – his eyes appeared like 2 candles. I followed – he led me to an island where I made a fire and warmed and dried myself; and as soon as I was rigged I followed him, for he went off and looked at me so earnestly I took it for an order; he led me straight to the water hole: there happened to be people at the time there going for water – they saw these lights and asked me what occasioned them, or who it was that came with me. I told them it was a compassionate spirit that retrieved me from a dreadful death."
	Excerpt from "The Order of the Dreamed" George Nelson’s Letter-Journal, 1823, Page 84 and 85.
	Long distance travellers such as the Missionaries wrote that certain tribes told them to avoid specific places. In the "Jesuit Relations", the Jesuits wrote they were urged to avoid the stinking waters of present day Ellliot Lake, Ontario. Considering the amount of uranium found in the region centuries later, it was good advice and good information.
	How is it done today?

	Today navigation is still about determining where you are, where you’re going and how far you’ve already come. The purpose of navigation is still to travel as safely and efficiently as possible. In some ways navigation and travel haven’t changed too much. Airline pilots and ship captains still prepare for travel in much the same way as our ancestors did. They know and study their routes. They are familiar with the equipment they will use. They know their crews. They communicate information about their intentions – heading, speed, flight path etc. - with other travellers in their area. They remain very conscious of their environment, especially changes in the weather. What has changed is the equipment, these modern high-tech navigators use to get from pace to place. While our ancestors left information for each other about stopping points, travel times and distances on stone walls, today that information is communicated through a complex network of satellites and electronic communications devices. Ships, planes and even some cars, have on board computers which allow them to access this complex network and determine their position to within centimeters. Pilots captains and drivers can communicate verbally with control towers and guidance centres from just about anywhere. Even passengers can use onboard satellite phones to contact family and friends. Handheld version, portable versions of this equipment, such as GPS (Global Positioning System) sensors and satellite phones, are also very useful and valuable on the land. If accidents or unforeseen events take place they allow people to call for help. One of the newest methods of air navigation is called the "Future Air Navigation System" or FANS. FANS is designed to increase safety and lower the costs of operating aircraft by using existing satellite-based communication to update navigation procedures that are accepted throughout the world. A FANS package is made up of:
	FANS Package

The Flight Management System, (FMS) the aircraft’s trip computer. It is used to store the aircraft’s plans and navigation route. It is also used to calculate fuel consumption, distance to travel, estimated time of arrival, etc.
Global Positioning System (GPS) sensors that are used for sensing a network of GPS satellites in orbit around the planet. This data is fed into the FMS through the sensors. The FMS calculates where the aircraft is in relation to the received satellites using triangulation algorithms. The results from the calculation can tell the pilot where the aircraft is with only centimetres of error while travelling 500 miles per hour.
SATCOM (Satellite Communications) systems allow passengers to make phone calls while in flight or allow flight crews to call service companies such as fuel or food preparation at the next destination.
ACARS/Data Link (Aircraft Communication And Reporting Syste
m) enables the pilot to datalink to weather services and air traffic control. It allows the pilot to accommodate for bad weather or overcrowding flight conditions at the next destination by changing the flight plan while en route.
Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS) is a computer screen that allows the pilot to display a graphical image of the aircraft’s current situation including flight path and aircraft direction. The EFIS also allows the pilot to switch the screen to display other information such as engine performance and fuel burn. The EFIS screens are located in front of the pilot and are designed to eliminate cockpit clutter, which in turn removes some of the pilot’s workload.

Flight Management System

GPS Salellite

SATCOM Satellite

EFIS Equipment

	For references and additional information on navigation, click here!