A starving Eskimo hunter shot and killed an eagle one day for food. By the time he returned home, he felt so bad for killing the eagle that instead of eating it, he stuffed it and put in a place of honor. Anytime he brought home food, he would offer the first bite to the bird.

One day, the hunter was lost in a blizzard and was waiting for his end. He was found by two men carrying feather covered sticks and brought to their village. There he met a woman dressed in black. He instantly knew that she was the mother of the eagle he had killed.

The eagle mother said that he had treated her son well and paid him the proper honor. She would show the hunter the Dance of the Eagle, which he must memorize and teach to his own people.

After the dance was over, the eagle village disappeared and the hunter found himself back in the blizzard. He managed to get back to his village and told the people about meeting the eagle people. He taught them the Dance and every year, they performed it exactly as they had been shown. They never hunted the eagle again and their nets and traps were always full.

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Last modified: Tue Jul 1 15:32:29 PDT 1997

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