Photo by Photo Submitted
AN ADDITION TO COURTROOMS – Ten eagle feathers are now available for use in courtrooms in Whitehorse, Watson Lake and Dawson City. Photo courtesy GOVERNMENT OF YUKON
Eagle feathers unveiled for Yukon courtrooms
A ceremony took place Monday to mark the unveiling of a set of eagle feathers to be used in Yukon courtrooms.
A ceremony took place Monday to mark the unveiling of a set of eagle feathers to be used in Yukon courtrooms.
The plan is part of a series of initiatives aimed at making the law courts more culturally-inclusive for Yukon First Nations and Indigenous Peoples.
The eagle feathers were prepared by elder Randal Tetlichi.
The initiative is a joint effort among the Council of Yukon First Nations (CYFN), First Nations, the territorial government and judiciary representing both the Supreme Court of Yukon and the Territorial Court of Yukon.
The collaboration includes a public display of First Nations art and land acknowledgement signage in the Law Courts building. Unveiling of the artwork and signage will take place at a later date.
Ten eagle feathers were unveiled and are now available for use in courtrooms in Whitehorse, Watson Lake and Dawson City and during circuit courts in rural Yukon communities.
The feathers may be used to swear oaths in court and are a means of acknowledging and incorporating Yukon First Nations culture within the mainstream justice system, as well as bringing respect and awareness to Yukon First Nations culture within the building, the Yukon government said in a statement.
“CYFN is pleased to be part of this collaborative effort to ensure that Yukon First Nations culture is reflected in the judicial process,” said Grand Chief Peter Johnston.
“It’s through projects like this that acknowledge and increase Yukon First Nations’ presence that move us towards reconciliation and defining a better way forward for everyone.”
For generations, added Justice Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee, “courtrooms across the country have acknowledged colonial traditions and willfully ignored the significance of First Nations cultures, practices and beliefs in Canada.
“By ensuring that witnesses have the cultural means to swear or affirm their oaths with eagle feathers, our territory is taking an incredibly significant and important step in acknowledging and respecting Yukon First Nations and advancing reconciliation,” McPhee added.
“As we look at practices within our institutions, and their colonial history, we need to work together to make them more inclusive and reflective of the people they serve.”
Chief Justice Suzanne M. Duncan (Supreme Court of Yukon) and Chief Judge Michael Cozens (Territorial Court of Yukon) also jointly commented on the feathers’ appearance.
“The introduction of eagle feathers for use by Yukon First Nations people in the courts is another step towards putting reconciliation into action,” the two judges said.
“It signifies respect for Indigenous culture and beliefs, and recognizes the need to make our justice system more inclusive and culturally appropriate for Yukon First Nations people.”
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Comments (30)
Up 0 Down 0
Karyn Atlin on Mar 16, 2022 at 6:29 pm
Crunch on ... ohh a dilemma. Should my First Nation ancestors ever invade the land of my Scot ancestors rip children away from parents, sexually and physically assault and marginalize them for generations I too would appreciate seeing a bagpipe on the courtroom wall.
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Anie on Mar 16, 2022 at 2:24 pm
Bobby Bitman - it's ok, god is not imposed on anyone in a courtroom in Canada. Every party has the right to affirm instead of swearing on a Bible.
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Liberalism Kills! on Mar 16, 2022 at 9:56 am
Dear Bobby Batman - The court process is not about finding facts but rather, deciding them. There is the Crown’s narrative and then there is the Defence’s narrative. The Judge must decide from the evidence presented to him/her/they what the facts are, and how they relate to a finding of guilt or non-guilt within the framework of, beyond a reasonable doubt. There is a moral calculus to this decision-making process which is entirely subjective. There is always some doubt, some evidence missing which may support or refute a particular narrative. Facts cannot exist outside of their interpretation of them. They are assigned meaning. Higher Courts on matters of appeal are generally loathe to interfere with the facts of a judgment but it is sometimes necessary. The appeal process is limited in this regard and usually hinges on fitness of sentence or some procedural issue. New evidence however can upset the administration of Justice of course - That was not his/her/their blood, for example.
A common feature of the criminal court process is Prosecutorial misconduct, such as, withholding exculpatory evidence. A vestige of the win-win mentality on the way up the ‘corporate ladder’; I want to be Chief Crown, I want to be a Judge, I want to be a government minister etcetera. This of course occurs within an adversarial process that has become so highly politicized that it is often, very often difficult to separate fact from fantasy… This is the reason why things like virtue and morality are considered in the press of criminality and judgment. This is why irrelevancies such as diversity and culture are given so much weight - A moral relativism becomes the measure by which your worth is determined. This is where the bias of Liberalism with its categorical hierarchies comes into play. The subject before the court becomes transformed through the lens of an identitarian schema which is externally imposed in the decision-making process.
The absolutely chilling aspect of this is that the individual before the court is given credit for his/her/their appearance, skin colour, DNA, and other trivialities as a substitute for free will, choice, actual lived experiences, actual acceptance or rejection of a given culture. No, it is not a fact finding process it is a fact-making process with all the pitfalls and frailties of human judgment and decision-making. This process is representative of the societal fracture caused by Liberal Ideologies which seek to atomize the populace through hierarchies of identitarian reasoning. Thus, you have people defending this lunacy by stating that who you are is important. Thus, actual behaviour, normative expectations, harms committed, become irrelevancies juxtaposed with culture… The least informative aspect of “any” individual.
But hey, sit back, kick back, and try to enjoy the show because with the Yukon Courts there is mostly likely a sequel to any judgment… We sure as heck know that there are numerous prequels: Johnny Badseed 7 - The Lazy Probation Officer…
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Guncache on Mar 15, 2022 at 7:30 pm
Would it be permissible for a non first nation person to use this?
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Bobby Bitman on Mar 15, 2022 at 3:46 pm
The idea is that instead of a bible, they can 'swear their oath' on an eagle feather. If the christian bible is allowed as if it is some presense of 'god', why not other people's closely held beliefs?
Next up, I expect pentagrams and spaghetti colanders. ha ha - just joking.
I do think that the beliefs of the First Nations, being the first belief system in the territory, do deserve at least equal footing with christianity. I'd really rather that the whole sky god / 'god said so' school of thought be left out of the court room however. Considering it's a venue of finding facts.
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Groucho d'North on Mar 15, 2022 at 10:32 am
@Lisa
Every "tradition" has a start date, this one is March 10, 2022. I suspect the feather honorific is a custom borrowed from the Circle Court process and customs.
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Fly like an eagle, let my spirit carry me… on Mar 15, 2022 at 7:38 am
At Groucho - I see what you did there. Nice! You perfectly described Liberalism with the headdress metaphor - Substituting turkey feathers for eagle feathers - Perfect!
It’s hard to soar with the eagles when you are surrounded by turkeys… That is Liberalism to a tee. Where the illusion meets the delusion. Is this way, we have such blatant intrusions into our person on the pretense of health and safety? Liberals are afraid that if their supporters look up into the sky while it’s raining they will drown? We should do PSAs to warn Liberals of the dangers of looking up… Or, maybe not?
Up 6 Down 4
Fly like an Eagle… on Mar 14, 2022 at 10:45 pm
Dear Lisa and Crunch - Many FN cultures in the North, including the Yukon, ate Eagles as food. Many FN cultures would keep them in cages as pets and others sacrificed them in rituals. Some FN cultures rejected the idea of Eagles as food. However, all cultures evolve. They are fluid and dynamic.
In fact it is a stupid idea to assume culture as some over arching categorical catchment - But hey, homogenization of cultures is a necessary form of assimilation because the political grinders need to create hierarchies so that the interests of “they” can be advanced over the interests of “them”.
Eagles were revered by many FN cultures as indicating grace, power, and intellect. Their feathers were used in important ceremonies to indicate wisdom, intellect, chieftainship, and courage.
They are Yukon FN traditional.
Resources:
http://traditionalanimalfoods.org/birds/birds-of-prey/page.aspx?id=6480
https://www.mymondotrading.com/native-meanings-symbology-myths-legends
Up 14 Down 3
Bandit on Mar 14, 2022 at 8:45 pm
As I mentioned in my previous post, what was the cost. I have been around Elder Randal Tetlichis' other business ventures and Tradition came at a Significant cost, not so sure about Tradition.
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Crunch on Mar 14, 2022 at 2:07 pm
Lisa: you ask the question that will likely never get answered. Any Indigenous takers?? This is a legit question.
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Groucho d'North on Mar 13, 2022 at 10:52 am
@ Doug Tutty
The case you speak of was in the Vancouver area in 2005,
https://www.indianz.com/News/2005/007105.asp
Eagles are often captured in traps set for regular fur-bearing creatures. There are setting techniques that can avoid this and there are techniques to capture them specifically. Judging by the number of eagle feathers in the traditional ceremonial headdresses seen at some cultural celebrations It appears that many eagles are killed for their plumage, However, many of these are really turkey feathers that have been dyed.
Up 39 Down 6
Lisa on Mar 13, 2022 at 7:08 am
Were Eagle feathers part of Yukon traditions or is this an adopted practice?
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Resident on Mar 12, 2022 at 8:51 pm
@Bandit
Good to know there's an avenue for legal possession for everyone. While I didn't think the Canadian laws were as restrictive as the American laws, I did assume that there would be a lot of hoops to jump through. Having Environment sign off that the death was natural is fair.
Up 37 Down 5
equal justice for all on Mar 11, 2022 at 6:32 pm
Let's start being truly inclusive and incorporate the indigenous practice of banishment for socially harmful acts.
Up 26 Down 0
Bandit on Mar 11, 2022 at 4:18 pm
@Resident
You couldn't be more incorrect, I have a small collection of Taxidermy that includes 3 - Great Horned Owls, 1 - Short eared Owl, 1 - Lynx, 1 - Marmot and 1 - Immature Bald Eagle that I picked up on the Highway near Dalton Post. All of the above were Road kills that I came across while travelling through The Yukon and are all permitted from Environment Yukon, all you need to do is take the specimen to the Office for a Necropsy and get a Permit to possess. So "yes" you can have an Eagle in your possession.
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Resident on Mar 11, 2022 at 2:30 pm
@Bandit
You may be thinking of the US law that makes even possession of a molted eagle feather illegal with an exception for First Nations. I assume Canada has a similar law that contains exceptions for First Nations.
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Paul Wray on Mar 11, 2022 at 1:19 pm
I find dead eagles at the city dump quite often so sourcing feathers would not be a problem. I believe that it is a crime for non indigenous people to possess them.
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Dude abides on Mar 11, 2022 at 10:41 am
Eagle feathers. How about rule of law? That would kinda tie the room together.
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Bandit on Mar 11, 2022 at 9:43 am
What was the cost of these 10 Feathers? An Eagle is a protected bird and I'm sure selling parts of them is ILL-Eagle... pardon the pun.
Up 30 Down 9
Donna Clayson on Mar 11, 2022 at 9:22 am
Wilf Carter. I doubt these feathers were plucked or any eagle harmed. I find eagle feathers all the time that they have shed.
Up 63 Down 11
Groucho d'North on Mar 11, 2022 at 9:07 am
When does reconciliation become tokenism, and how will we know the difference?
Up 32 Down 7
Resident on Mar 10, 2022 at 10:38 pm
@Wilf Carter
You know birds molt, right?
Up 34 Down 12
Selective inclusion on Mar 10, 2022 at 9:20 pm
But never mind the children with special needs. They are not our children, say McPhee and Cozens. Inclusion OUR WAY!
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McPhee has no legitimacy! on Mar 10, 2022 at 9:10 pm
When a First Nation person can get a one day jail sentence for murdering another First Nation person it seems that any sense of Justice has become a perversion of the notion of inclusivity. In fact it then becomes entirely exclusive. But hey, let us throw some Eagle feathers at the perps… Nicely done judges, nicely done!
Nice that we have a disgraced Justice Minister giving her support for this initiative. The optics of an ethically challenged Minister who does not have the legitimacy or the support of the people is throwing her weight into this reform… Wow! It kind of taints the process.
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Doug Tutty on Mar 10, 2022 at 5:31 pm
The article says that the feathers were prepared by an Elder but it doesn't say how they were procured. I would be nice if the article explained that part of the process. I recall something about a fiasco, I think it was in Manitoba, where eagle feathers were introduced except it was found later that the eagle had been hunted which caused quite a stir.
Up 61 Down 20
Crunch on Mar 10, 2022 at 4:00 pm
A set of bagpipes hanging on the wall would be nice and thanks for thinking of my culture. It would also symbolize the excess virtual signalling hot air blowing around.
Up 35 Down 10
Donna on Mar 10, 2022 at 3:33 pm
Wilf Carter. I have found these feathers shed where the eagles make their nests. Doesn’t mean anyone has plucked them out of a captured bird.
Up 94 Down 28
Bill on Mar 10, 2022 at 2:29 pm
OK, I want the shamrock in every courtroom.
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Wilf Carter on Mar 10, 2022 at 1:30 pm
These birds are not suppose to be touched and this is wrong!
Up 90 Down 25
Matthew on Mar 10, 2022 at 1:25 pm
"The plan is part of a series of initiatives aimed at making the law courts more culturally-inclusive for Yukon First Nations and Indigenous Peoples." LOL! Pretty sure the courtroom is definitely culturally inclusive!