Urban Tribalism
by Canadian Métis Visual Artist, Jason "Shaded Cloud" O'Connor
"Amun" is the name of an ancient Egyptian deity associated with creation and the hidden aspects of the world, and "Ursa" is Latin for bear. This name combines the divine Egyptian element with the strength and mystery of a bear. This is the Creation Bear.
Winter Wolves Mystery and power are the primary symbolic meanings of the Sacred Wolf. Consequently, people have feared and been fascinated by the majestic Wolf since ancient times. Wolves figure prominently in the mythology of nearly every Native American tribe. In most Native cultures, Wolf is considered a medicine associated with courage, strength, loyalty, and success at hunting. Makoyi, or Makoyiwa, is another word for Wolf often used in legends and traditional stories or as an element of Blackfoot names. Wolves are highly social animals that live in packs, but not all wolves stay with the same pack their entire lives. However, it doesn't mean they prefer to be alone. On the contrary, young adult wolves who end up leaving the pack they were born into usually do so to form a pack of their own. During the coldest nights, a wolf will curl itself into a ball, covering its nose with its tail, holding the exhaled warm air over its feet and nose, conserving precious body heat. It will also sleep close to its pack mates in a unified effort to stay warm. Wolves in northern climates can rest comfortably in open areas at minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Unique blood vessels in wolves' feet keep furred footpads warm and prevent the buildup of snow and ice between toes. Deep snow in the winter can make hunting challenging for wolves, though they have a remarkable ability to adapt to changing conditions.
Those moments in your life where you feel blessed and humbled by nature stick in your mind forever, and that was precisely my experience swimming on the great barrier reef beside a sea turtle. It was a mystical experience. The group of people I was with were far away, and I felt like it was just the turtle and me swimming together as two different species in the middle of the south pacific. I experienced it again while living in Vanuatu in 2003 and 2004. That's where is learned about the great work the Dau ni Vonu was doing for the WWF-Pacific, and it inspired me to illustrate a turtle with Polynesian and Melanesian styles (my favourite). The Dau ni Vonu, or Turtle Monitors, are members of 10 local community field sites where turtles are under threat, often on remote islands. It was not so long ago in Fiji that eating turtle meat was commonplace; many grew up on it. Today WWF's efforts and the Turtle Moratorium banning the harvesting of turtles are beginning to change this. And an important way of changing behaviour, especially on remote islands, is through the Dau ni Vonu. Often former turtle-hunters, the Dau ni Vonu is the best at finding feeding adults, nesters and eggs. The Dau ni Vonu are trained to record sightings, nesters and numbers of eggs, monitor seagrass health (their food), and even affix satellite tags to captured 'turtles' carapaces (shells) to track individuals as they journey around the Pacific. Satellite tagging is vital in guiding future conservation efforts by allowing conservationists to record turtles' critical habitats and nesting beaches.