WHY?
WHY did the Native Americans come up with this way of marking time? They studied the stars, and the sun and moon, to make a calendar.
That way they knew when to plant their crops, or when to move, or to get ready for winter.
Sometimes there were special ceremonies that were social. Usually only special people, the chiefs of the groups, knew how to read the “calendars” they had made
The Native American attached special meanings to astronomy and understood it was all part of their way to live with nature.