Eagles carry sacred lessons of Indigenous knowledge for future generations, says elder

Unreserved54:00Sacred Seven: Eagle guides us with Love

Growing up in Toronto, Alan Colley didn't see a bald eagle until he travelled to British Columbia to reconnect with his Indigenous roots on a ceremonial canoe trip.

For Indigenous people, the eagle is a sacred animal that carries lessons like how to love and respect all of life, which are being passed onto future generations by elders and knowledge keepers.

"I kind of thought they were a myth," said the knowledge keeper who is of Ojibway, Cree, Blackfoot and mixed European descent.

Colley grew up in the foster care system. He says he didn't feel a connection to his foster family and struggled to make many friends. But he found comfort within nature, seeking out urban ravines and green spaces throughout Toronto.

"People always believe that nature is three hours up north, everybody has to go way out of the city," he told Unreserved.

"Creation is right here, it's right where we are."

Seeing the eagle in B.C. was an event that inspired him to share the traditional knowledge he carries, and encourage city-dwellers to seek adventure in their own backyards.

Now, bald eagles are making a comeback in southern Ontarioand have even been spotted in his home city.

Colley says it's a sign that the environment of the Humber River watershed is improving.

A watershed is an area of land that catches rain and snow, and drains or seeps into a marsh, stream, river, lake or groundwater. At over 90,000 hectares, the Humber River watershed is the largest in the Toronto region.

"The effects we as humans have had on the watershed took a great toll, but now through the joint efforts of community members, schools, children, elders, parents and knowledge keepers, wildlife has been returning in a profound way," he said.

Colley runs Living Wild in the City, which invites people of all ages onurban outdoor tours where he shares Indigenous knowledge about the local flora and fauna in Toronto, including around the Humber River.

"There is power within our culture," he said.

"If I hadn't gone through the experience I did within the foster care system, of being within that colonial structure, I don't feel I'd be able to look at creation around me and see the beauty and the struggle, but also the opportunity to connect."

A reminder to pass along knowledge

For Edna Manitowabi, the eagle carries teachings that remind her of her responsibility to pass along traditional knowledge to future generations.

Manitowabi is a Midewiwin knowledge holder, a traditional medicine society made up of the Odawa, Ojibway andPotawatomi. She is Odawa and Ojibway from Wikwemikong First Nation on Manitoulin Island.

Manitowabirecalled travelling through the hills of Montana when her daughter spotted what she thought were two hawks sitting on fence posts.

WATCH | How Elder Stan Kipling preserves and respects animal remains:

Respectful 'even in death': Elder Stan Kipling shares his work with animals

1 month ago

Duration 1:18

Elder Stan Kipling works on preserving animal parts to create cultural items. He also teaches his harvesting methods at youth camps and to be respectful to these animals.

But the birds weren't hawks they were two golden eagles.

"As we were holding our tobacco, there was a streak of lightning in the middle of the sky up on the hill of the mountains, and those two majestic birds lofted at the same time," said Manitowabi.

She says in her teachings, the eagle is the one that flies the highest and the closest to the Creator, so seeing an eagle is a great blessing, and being gifted an eagle feather is a high honour that means your life is on the right path.

Because of the reverence for eagles, their feathers are used in ceremony as a teaching tool to pass along traditional knowledge.

"When somebody carries that eagle feather, that means that you have to speak with truth and honesty and be humble," said Elder Stan Kipling from Brokenhead First Nation.

Respecting animals, even in death

Kipling, who lives in Winnipeg, estimates he has about 1,000 eagle feathers kept in glass containers. He collects them from eagles that have died after being electrocuted on power lines.

He is a traditional harvester and knowledge keeper who makes ceremonial items in order to share teachings that the eagle carries.

"The eagle teaches us about love how to love all things in life, how to love ourselves," he said.

"Once we learn to love ourselves the way the eagle teaches us, then we can help others."

Kipling grew up on the trapline learning how to catch and harvest animals like muskrats and beavers.

He uses the knowledge he gained as a child in his work preserving sacred animals, like eagles and buffalo. But he says his process is different from the work of taxidermists who focus on skinning and mounting animals.

He keeps everything.

With eagles that means keeping their feathers, feet and wings, in addition totheir bones and organs which can be used in traditional medicines. Any parts he doesn't use he returns to the land.

For Kipling, it's important to pass on the knowledgethat the eagle isn't just a bird to younger generations, encouraging them to treat the animal with respect even in death.

"We were put here to take care of the earth, not to conquer it and so we have to pass on that knowledge."

This story is part of a series from Unreserved called Sacred Seven. The series explores the seven sacred teachings and introduces us to Indigenous Elders, knowledge keepers and community members who are putting those teachings into action.