Ceremony held to assist bear spirits journey dwelling after severed paws discovered

Kukpi7 Wayne Christian cannot understand how to treat bears like that.

On May 23, Brandi Hansen, who was hiking with her family in the Scotch Creek area, the traditional Secwépemc area, found more than 100 skinned and clawless bear paws, including bear cubes. Most of the paws were in a culvert, although some had been dragged onto the road by wildlife.

“I just don’t know … if you have an understanding of creation and all aspects of it, everything has a spirit,” said Christian, tribal chairman of the Shuswap Nation tribal council.

“Everything serves a purpose on this land. I think that’s part of what they don’t understand. They only see it as an object, not as a living being. It has a mind. It has a connection. It has a family. It has a territory in which it lives. It has a home. It has all of these things, just like humans. I don’t think they understand. You see it as an object. ”

Christian was very worried about what happened and worried that it might happen again.

To prevent a recurrence, the public was made aware of the incidents and the Neskonlith Band and Pespesellkwe te Secwepemc are offering a $ 3,000 reward for any information that leads to a conviction. The reward is $ 1,000 higher than the maximum reward of $ 2,000 offered by the BC Wildlife Federation.

To date, Dave Nordquist, director of natural resources for the Adams Lake Indian Band, said there was no response to the reward.

BC Environment’s David Karn confirmed the conservation officers’ ongoing investigation and said it was not a joint effort with the RCMP.

In an email response to Windspeaker.com, Karn said there was no information to share at this point.

The hunt for black bears is limited to two animals per adult hunter and requires a fish and wildlife pass. Hunters also require a basic hunting license and a bear license and must be based in British Columbia.

Disposal of carcasses or parts of wildlife falls under the BC Wildlife Act, which prohibits dumping animal parts and carcasses where “likely human beings are, in any way that the attractant could attract dangerous wildlife to the land or terrain, and for dangerous wildlife be accessible. ”

“This is such a desecration of an animal in our culture (that) means a lot to our people. Bear is considered a protector and healer. It is the boss of the four-legged friends. For us this blatant depiction of the paws that were thrown away and thrown away … I honestly can’t imagine what they thought or did, ”said Christian.

A ceremony in honor of the bears was held on May 31st.

“The spirit of these bears is like any living thing that is passed on in this way. Their spirits are restless. You need to be brought to rest. What we did (Monday) was call them where we were holding the ceremony and let them know that we could help them return home because we don’t know where they came from. So that was a big part of it. How can we help our brother because they are a really important part of us to find the way home to where they need to go, ”said Christian.

Loading…

Loading…Loading…Loading…Loading…Loading…

If a bear’s spirit cannot find its way home, “it will roam and disturb the living,” he added. And when that happens, “they will let us know and our spiritual guides will be able to guide and help them.”

Windspeaker.com