Echoes From the Eagle Spirit Society

The reverberating sounds of the Drums and the sweet melodies The wavering movements of the tree suggest that they enjoy the rhythm that they hear Tipis and feathers creating an artistic view of cultural connotation Men and women blown away in preparation I can see generations connecting to the ways of their fore fathers I can see the land and its spirituality through the teaching of neyihaw Mother earth smiles to the spirituality and reciprocity hovering round the indigenous mind I can see disembodied walls coming together to create a wonderful atmosphere for social interaction I can see children and youth strolling back to cultural identity I can hear the healing process echoing through the circles I see the world views flowing within my mind through the cultural teachings of ceremonies When I stand in the mirror am drenched in the reflection of the similarities that exist between the two cultures Culture indeed is an art that sits patiently in our heart waiting to be expressed by ceremonies Culture is a parrot or Porte parole that speaks volumes of our identity Culture is the sustaining power of our four dimensions that keep our body and soul together The similarities keeps crawling back like a recurring decimal each time am lost in cultural oblivion Culture was brutalised and kicked out in the hands of residential schools Children becoming strangers to whom they are Oh my God it killed their culture it killed their spirit It dismantled the social fabric of family and community Like lost but found item my creativity has found me in this wilderness of cultural revitalisation Which I wish to empty with my busy hands dancing to the songs of my creativity These are the echoes from the eagle spirit society Author GINIKACHI OBAH