Visit from an Angel 6-21-2020

We had a very exciting visit from an eagle named Angel at the prison on June, 21, 2020.

A little background… Eagles are considered to be sacred birds by the Lakota, Dakota, and many other indigenous people.  They fly higher than any other birds in North America and are considered as messengers taking prayers of the people to the Creator.

There is a story about a time when the earth was flooded except for one mountaintop. There was a beautiful young Native woman on the mountaintop, some rabbits, and other small creatures and an eagle.  The woman was very sad because she was the only surviving human on the earth.  The eagle took care of her by catching rabbits and bringing them to her so she would have something to eat.  He saw her tears and was moved by pity for her.

The eagle spoke to the Creator and asked him to turn him into a human man so the young woman would have a companion.  The Creator asked him if he really wanted to give up his ability to fly everywhere and see everything with his keen eyes.  The eagle said he wanted to be a man so he could be with the woman and the Creator granted his wish.  The two of them became the parents of the human race as the flood subsided.

Now back to Angel, the eagle…

The organizers of a sundance at Pine Ridge paid the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, MN to send an eagle and two handlers for their sundance. One of the people organizing the sundance called me and suggested we might be able to have the eagle stop at the prison in Sioux Falls on her way back to Wabasha after the sundance. I called the National Eagle Center and they agreed to a one-day stop in Sioux Falls at the prison for a reduced fee since it was on their way home. It didn’t take much to get the prison administration to agree to having her come. Eagles also hold a special spot in the military and many of the prison officers served in the military or are in the reserve.