Native American

Native Americans were unaware that a solar eclipse occurred when the moon blocked the sun from view. Additionally, they lacked the forewarning and planning that we enjoy today. Before the solar eclipse occurred, it would just be another day like any other to the Native Americans. It's simple to understand how someone who didn't understand what was happening may find this experience to be tremendously terrifying. Native Americans would create their own myths about solar eclipses despite the fact that they didn't completely comprehend them.

In the Choctaw Nation, people connected a cunning black squirrel to the eclipse's darkness. They thought the sun, their source of heat and light, was being attacked by a black squirrel as the dark ring appeared in the sky. Naturally, the Choctaw people were extremely terrified by this. The Native Americans would attempt to frighten the squirrel away, but squirrels are readily spooked by loud noises. The women would wave their arms, shout at the top of their lungs, and ring loud bells. To make as much noise as they could, the kids would bang on pots and pans. The tougher soldiers would stand at attention and shoot their weapons upward at the constantly moving black squirrel. As you could expect, the animals would also be alarmed by all of the ruckus. Horses would stir, dogs would bark, and all manner of disaster would follow. In certain circumstances, the Native Americans may continue their commotion for a few hours due to the eclipse's gradual advancement. The Choctaw people would eventually experience a partial eclipse, and they would rejoice at having scared the ravenous black squirrel away.

Although it is now well known that the Native Americans didn't actually scare away the enormous, black squirrel in the sky, it is believed that the noise scared off every other squirrel in the area. Consider how the Native Americans must have felt as they observed the greedy squirrel attempting to consume the sun on August 21 while you watch the solar eclipse.