Nourish the Word

I saw an eagle flying overhead as I was driving the other day. This is not so unusual in some parts of the country. But it stood out from the birds of prey that frequent the skies over me this time of year: hawks, ravens, kestrels usually, and the occasional vulture. It reminded me of the symbolism of the eagle I am overdue in examining. So let's examine it... Last post, I shared a link to  this Potawatomi site with their tribes cultural teachings . Today I'm going to direct attention to  another one of their videos.  The specific part relevant to this post begins as the 12:13 min mark of the video. I'll also be referencing The Mishomis Book , by Edward Benton-Benai again. (Edit: When first sharing this, one of my initial resources for this had disappeared from the internet, and I made do with what resources I had left. I have since rediscovered it on the internet archive:  The Eagle Feather ) The Eagle as Intercessor By Carly Lesser & Art Drauglis from Washi

Someone recently brought this video to my attention, and I believe it is worth sharing here. It is one of many such videos on the cultural teachings of the Potawatomi that can be found here . Watching the video will be helpful in understanding the familiar attributes I'm about to point out. The Number 7 In both Christianity and at least a few American tribes, the number 7 is highly symbolic of sacred things. For example, this description of the symbolic meaning of the number 7 concerning Christ can be found the Teaching and Commandments : He bears seven wounds on His person: two in His wrists, two in His palms, two in His feet, and one in His side. Seven is the symbolic number of completion or perfection. Seven wounds reflect the completion of His sacrifice and of that sacrifice’s complete perfection. If a similar symbolism can be understood in this Anishinaabe tradition, than the seven grandfathers would also represent completion and perfection. Likewise, the number o