Thoughts on, “Eagle Catcher” by Margaret Coel
This novel features a Jesuit Priest named Father John and begins with the stabbing murder of Harvey, an Elder of the Arapaho Tribe. Will Standing Bear is another elder of the Arapaho Nation. He lives on the Wind River Indian Reserve in Wyoming. He has come to trust the Jesuit Priest Father John. This is one of the quotes from Will Standing Bear.
“Lots of things are more important than oil, our Arapaho way, our Religion, our elders and our children, our brothers and sisters, all the creatures that make our life rich—the four leggeds and the wingeds—sun that shines every day, Mother Earth that gives us all we need to live. Lots of things.”
Father John, a Jesuit priest, realized he’d been looking at things through the eyes of a white man. Oil means money which places it high on the white man’s scale of values. Oil is important to the Arapahos, too, but in the whole scheme of things, its importance is minor.
The word for white person in Arapaho is Niatha. Standing Bear also said,
“ Niatha’s too clever for himself.” The word for white man is also the word for spider, a mysterious clever creature. “Niatha tries hard to bury his shameful deeds. Trouble is, he wants to write everything down. So pretty soon somebody (like Harvey) finds what Niatha wrote down and Niatha gets tangled up in his own web.”
These two quotes are part of a long novel of intrigue, prejudice and love. They are still the main difference between the environmental people and those for whom money is what’s important. This clash of values will stop us from saving the planet if we don’t come together and co-operate.
Native people, who live on the land and who appreciate the simple things of the earth will never understand our ways of grasping for money at the expense of a healthy environment. The few who do get caught up in our ways turn out like us.
Fortunately there are people like David Suzuki, David Attenborough, Jane Goodall and others who have somehow been able to see the native way in terms of animals, land and water and will help the two sides get together if anyone can, but I think it will be an difficult job. There are far more people who are more interested in profit for the short term and don’t see or don’t care about the outcome this will bring.
I think that the Arapaho way as mentioned in these stories is healthy for all people. We have destroyed so much of the land, the air, the water and the creatures who naturally inhabit our towns and cities and even our farms that we are in danger of becoming extinct ourselves. Raising awareness for the fight against the changing climate is one thing we can all do to stop this dangerous trend and many young people all over the world are busy doing just that.
The good thing about novels like this one is that it makes people see the other side of an issue and helps with understanding and cooperation.
I am now well into the fourth novel by Margaret Coel and I rather like the Jesuit Priest who had learned the Arapaho way. The native people trust him even though he is white and this makes him a valued leader in their community. I wish this could happen on the world stage.
by Margot Roberts
Algonquin Highlands' Writers 