I am being visited by hawks. I see them everywhere. It started a few weeks ago when my daughter and I were driving to pick up my son at his school. We saw a huge red tailed hawk sitting on a fencepost very close to the side of the road. The place where he was sitting was in farm area, cows included. It had a small pond, changing leaves and weathered stone and wooden fences. It was beautiful New England in the fall. We pulled over and watched him for quite a long time. He looked at us, turned his head back and stared so we could watch him side on. It was almost as if he had acknowledged our presence for a moment. I was amazed that he didn't move. In fact, we had to leave before he did.
Red Tailed Hawk, Source Wiki media Commons
I have never had the opportunity to see a hawk so close in the wild. Since that day, they have returned along my drive regularly and often in groups of two and three. Sometimes close by on the side of the road only to swoop up beside us. I often catch a glimpse of white and the red tail behind it as it climbs into the air. Other times, I see them circling above the trees. They are magnificent.
I live about 25 minutes outside of Boston, but in an area that boasts a lot of conservation lands. It is not uncommon to be visited by deer, turkey, foxes, coyotes, owls and the occasional bear as has passed through the past two springs. None of this is strange. It was what my daughter said that day that got me thinking. After looking for a few minutes in complete silence, she said, "Is he protecting me?" This small statement floored me for a second. My daughter is one of these children that regularly says these things that give me pause to think. She has been doing it since she could speak. It immediately brought to mind images of eagle and turkey feather bustles at powwows and it started me thinking about the significance of these great birds in Mi'kmaq and Native American tradition. So, I did some research.
Bald Eagle, Source Wiki media Commons
Birds, it turns out, are messengers.The most important of them being the eagle. These great birds are sacred in most First Nation cultures, and I was able to find a Mi'kmaq connection specifically to the eagle. Just as in Christianity, the Mi'kmaq have a God who was sent by the creator to walk the earth. His name was Kluscap. (Glooscap). I have often wondered after hearing these stories of Kluscap, if this is in part why the Mi'kmaq could be converted to Christianity so early on in their relations with the Europeans. There is a similarity to Christ in this fact.
In the Mi'kmaq creation story, Kluscap is formed out of the elements of the earth by Kisu'lk (Gisoolg), the creator. The word Gisoolg means , you are created and is a verb. When Kluscap was created from a bolt of lightening, he lay in the earth unable to move. After the third winter, he was freed and travelled the four sacred directions across the entire continent until he saw grandfather sun and returned to the place of his creation in the east. He looked up at grandfather sun and a bald eagle descended and landed. He was called Kitpu. He said."I am the bird who flies the highest in the sky and I am the messenger for Kisu'lk." He told Kluscap that he would be joined soon by the rest of his family who would help him understand his place in the world. As he flew away, a feather floated down and he caught it in his hand. Kluscap touched it and held it. He felt strong holding it. Since this day the eagle feather is a symbol of strength and symbolizes connection to the creator , grandfather sun and mother earth.
Wild turkey, Source Wiki media Commons
As for my new friends the hawks, I was unable to find much specifically from Mi'kmaq teachings that I searched. There are many stories involving birds and it appears that all of these great birds of prey are important and had significance. As messengers, they carried messages from the creator and the ancestors. From what I can understand, the birds were not worshiped as many believe, but were respected because they embodied strong spirits. Kisu'lk, the creator, who made these great birds and everything on the earth was worshiped.
In some Native American cultures they do represent the protection of the creator and the ancestors, which is very reassuring. The hawk is known for its keen eyesight which is eight times greater than a human's. In many of these cultures, the hawk is believed to offer greater insight into one's talents or self, sometimes also representing gifts of prophecy.
Mi'kmaq dancer wearing Eagle feather regalia
Tribes of the northeast were known to adorn themselves with feathers of these great birds. The turkey, which is a game bird and not a bird of prey, is also sometimes known as the earth eagle and represents a connection to mother earth. These feathers were often used for arrow fletching as well as headdresses, decorations and capes. Today, these feathers are still used to adorn powwow regalia and are considered to be powerful and important symbols. I am not sure what my hawk sightings mean, if anything as of yet, but I know that when I see them, something in my soul stirs. I will be watching as long as they appear.
If you are interested in hearing more of the Kluscap creation story in greater detail, I learned this information from Mi'kmaq Stephen Augustine's teachings. He is a fantastic storyteller and well known in the Mi'kmaq community. The version I present here in my blog is very basic and omits a great deal of the story. There is a wonderful video at www.fourdirectionsteachings.com/main.html which explains each of the seven levels of the creation story. You can find many of Stephen Augustine's teachings on line and on you tube as well.
This week-end in Massachusetts, Columbus Day will be celebrated. There is a large Italian American community, and no doubt, somewhere in the city of Boston, there will be parties to celebrate the famous explorer, who sailed for Spain and discovered a great new world.
I am not celebrating this holiday. Officially that is, for the first time. Truthfully, I have never celebrated Columbus Day. I have always opted to host a party for my Canadian friends, where we cook a turkey and watch the Patriots play football. A bit of both American and Canadian worlds. Yes, this is the week-end that Canada celebrates Thanksgiving, so that's what this displaced Canadian will do along with my friends who live in the area. I also plan to unveil a beautiful new photo of a Mi'kmaq warrior that will hang in my living room as a tribute to my heritage.
There is a movement afoot here in the United States to do away with Columbus Day. Only some states still observe this day and there is a national movement to abolish it completely. The Native American communities are pushing to create an Aboriginal Awareness Day. It is not without controversy. The Italian American community view Columbus as a hero and celebrate him as such while the American Indian community views him as a murderer who began the genocide of many nations throughout the continents of the Americas.
I have been doing some research on this man and his legacy. I do understand the Italian community's position and mean no disrespect to these people. Italian Americans were also discriminated against in the early formation of the United States and Columbus was a worthy hero when one was needed. He was a great navigator. He is given credit for discovering these continents, but I don't think that many of us here in the United States have the facts. It was not just about three boats accidentally discovering a continent where people traded freely as we are led to believe. There is a lot more to it than this. This story deserves a closer look.
People are writing doctoral dissertations and lengthy books about this subject. I cannot possibly do it justice in this short piece, but I will at least give you an idea and encourage anyone who is interested to read some of the books out there about this subject. Probably the best example of the situation are the words of Christopher Columbus himself.
"....since they have become more assured, and are losing that terror, they are artless and generous with what they have, to such a degree as no one would believe but him who had seen it. Of anything they have, if it be asked for, they never say no, but do rather invite the person to accept it, and show as much lovingness as though they would give their hearts...And they know no sect nor idolatry; save that they believe that power and goodness are in the sky...And this comes not because they are ignorant: on the contrary, they are men of subtle wit, who navigate all those seas, and who give a marvelous good account of everything... And as soon as I arrived in the Indies, in the first island that I found, I took some of them by force....their (Spanish) Highness may see that I shall give them (the Spanish crown) as much gold as they may need... and slaves as many as they shall order to be shipped, and these shall be from idolaters." Pg. 9 (Letter from Columbus in Forbes, The Indian in America's Past)
"Columbus proceeded to enslave these "loving' people, shipping thousands of them to Europe and Africa for a profit. Then he and his European cohorts enslaved tens of thousands of others and liquidated several millions of other humans in the islands within a generation. " Pg. 31 (Columbus and other Cannibals, Jack D. Forbes)
There is, of course, the knowledge that Columbus did not discover the new world in the first place. How does someone discover a place when there are people already living there? If it is determined by European acknowledgement as is often an argument in favor of Columbus, the Norse had been there already and established a settlement in Newfoundland until being driven out by the Beothuk hundreds of years before. There are also theories that Columbus had prior knowledge of these "Indian" civilizations because some "Indian merchants had been blown by a storm to the coasts of Germany (probably Netherlands). Writers living in the sixteenth century cited this account when they discussed the background for the voyages of Columbus, since these "Indians" must have come from across the Atlantic." page 37 (Columbus and other Cannibals) The reason that most of us have learned to celebrate him is not because "he recorded his voyage" as I was taught in school, but simply because another racial group needed him to be a hero figure. The rest of the story was simply omitted because it wasn't convenient.
Whatever the real truth is, whether he came with the intention to exploit these people or not, he did just that. Columbus and his associates murdered, terrorized and enslaved thousands of the the Taino (Arawak) people, almost completely destroying them. His views and actions set the stage for not only the enslavement of the Taino people, but the African slave trade as well and the control and slaughter of other American Indian people for hundreds of years to come. Through these actions, disease and opportunists who followed Columbus' lead, the population of the Americas and its indigenous people was reduced by millions.
The definition of genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political or cultural group. This story of Christopher Columbus's legacy is not one of new discoveries but of death, destruction and yes, genocide. Let's call it what it is. In the end, we have a choice in who we honor.
So long Christopher.
Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends and family!
