An Indigenous eagle feather has been gifted to the School of Justice Studies at Lethbridge Polytechnic for use in the program courtroom. “This will help to understand the challenges and difficulties our people have gone through in the past and that the justice system will play a role in helping people to move forward,” said Jordan Head, the Indigenous cultural adviser at Lethbridge Polytechnic. It is a sacred honour.
The Indigenous eagle feather symbolizes trust, strength, wisdom and freedom. The feather was gifted to Lethbridge Polytechnic’s School of Justice Studies by Lowell Yellowhorn, a former employee of the institution. It was originally gifted to current instructor Gord Ryall, who then gave it the polytechnic.
Trudi Mason, the dean for the centre of justice and human services at Lethbridge Polytechnic, says this gift is important for students and staff alike. “For me personally, it’s another way for us to recognize our Indigenous students and their culture,” Mason said. It will stay in the polytechnic courtroom and will act in a similar fashion to a Bible or Qur’an when students swear an oath with it.
“We have to be considering how we use the Indigenous ways of knowing and learning and how we use them in our classrooms and how we incorporate it into everything that we do daily,” said Mason. After receiving the gift from Yellowhorn, Ryall felt compelled to offer the feather for use in the courtroom. “These were gifts given to me and I, in turn, want.