It’s not every day you get to see an eagle — let alone two — alive and up close. But it’s something Liberty Wildlife visitors recently did while blessing these animals during the nonprofit’s third-annual Native American wildlife celebration.
Robert Mesta is usually seen running all around Liberty Wildlife working as director of the repository, aiding tribal members in the Valley and nationwide in getting access to feathers — excluding those from federally protected eagles and condors.
But on one Sunday morning in November, the Pascua Yaqui honors bald and golden eagles, Cisco and Anasazi, with a song, stressing “and they’re revered for their strength, their intelligence and even their healing and protective powers.”
Things the Phoenix nonprofit is helping guests tap into.
“Pinch some sacred tobacco,” instructed Mesta, “take it to the eagle and say their prayer, and oftentimes, the eagles will flap their wings — to feel the wind of the eagle is like the ultimate experience.”
Both tribal and non-tribal people alike participated by gifting that tobacco to the bird handlers, who then rubbed it onto each eagle as an offering. The line kept growing as dozens came to pay respect; it lasted for an hour.
That didn’t bother Augustine “Augie” Molina, who is Pascua Yaqui and lives near Tucson. He was tasked with spiritually preparing people before meeting the birds by burning sage bundles and tapping them with a fan made from feathers — while those being cleansed bathed in the smoke.
“Sometimes it calls to me. This person hurts here, or this person might need extra smudging — more smoke — more fan — more of the air,” Molina explained. “When you smudge, it’s gonna take as long as it’s gonna take.”
Molina is no medicine man, but he’s been trained by his uncle to provide this healing service for more than two decades now, noting “you are tapping into somebody’s spirit and got to be careful with that.”
“And once you start getting your feathers and your wings together, it becomes inspiring — makes you want to help people,” added Molina. “And with our traditions fading away, I feel like it's something that we need to keep. So that’s why I do it.”
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More than 56 million acres — nearly 3% of the U.S. landmass — belong to tribes. The Land and Water Conservation Fund has aided more than 47,000 projects, like parks and trails, in nearly every county nationwide.
