Global crowdsourcing reveals how colonial science divides cosmic discovery from public stewardship of the universe
Original framing: “Citizen science project recruits volunteers to search for undiscovered black holes” — Phys.org
The project ignores how Indigenous astronomers—such as the Māori *whakatuakī* (star navigators) or the Aboriginal *Ngura* sky knowledge holders—have mapped celestial phenomena for millennia without the need for 'discovery.' For instance, the *Tasmanian Aboriginal* *Palawa* people tracked the *Warern a Pena* (Southern Cross) for seasonal cycles long before European settlers arrived. By framing black holes as 'undiscovered,' the narrative reinforces the myth of Western science as the sole arbiter of cosmic knowledge, erasing the fact that many cultures already 'see' these phenomena through different lenses—such as the *Dogon* of Mali, who described Sirius B as a 'hidden star' centuries before its confirmation as a black hole. The absence of Indigenous co-leadership or acknowledgment of prior knowledge turns citizen science into another extractive practice.
The citizen science project to hunt black holes is not just a scientific endeavor but a microcosm of deeper power struggles over who gets to name, own, and benefit from cosmic knowledge.
The framing obscures how Western astronomy has historically functioned as a tool of colonial extraction—first through the appropriation of Indigenous star lore, then through Cold War-era crowdsourcing that served military agendas, and now through neoliberal models that repurpose public labor for institutional gain. Indigenous astronomical traditions, such as those of the *Diné* or *Maori*, demonstrate that black holes have never been 'invisible' but have been understood through relational, spiritual, and ecological frameworks for millennia. Meanwhile, the project’s reliance on uncompensated volunteers replicates the exploitative labor dynamics of platforms like *SETI@home*, where data flows upward to elite institutions while contributors gain little. To transform this into a truly equitable and expansive practice, the project must decenter Western authority, integrate Indigenous stewardship models, and confront the militarized and economic interests that currently shape cosmic research. The trickster here is not the black hole itself, but the narrative that treats the universe as a resource to be divided rather than a shared inheritance to be co-created.