Red-Tailed Hawk

Greetings Relatives,

Like I said, we were at St. Charles for about 2.5 years. Mum got better and was able to take us out and care for us again. We moved to Sanford, Maine. When she brought us home I told her that I had been having dreams about the Red-Tailed Hawk. She told me that the Red-Tailed Hawk was my spirit protector that I should always pay very close attention whenever it visited me as it was trying to give me an important message.

She continued taking me out on nature and plant identification hikes to the small woods. Whenever we went we would both look for the Red-Tailed Hawk, and it never failed that one of us would spot one. Whenever I saw one I felt safe and secure – that it was watching out for my safety. Mum always reminded me to pay attention to the Hawk and that to our ancestors it was a sign of strength. Many Indians understand that the Eagle is a spiritual messenger that carries our prayers to Great Spirit. Mum told me this, but then she would add that the Hawk carried messages back from Great Spirit to us.

My friends and I used to go bike riding on the back roads around Sanford. There were about six of us and we liked to go riding on new roads, often dirt, as often as possible. I would always look up into the sky before the ride to see if my friend, the Hawk, was soaring above. On this one particular day, I could not spot one so I was quite uneasy. I told my friends I didn’t think we should go riding on this particular road. They asked me why and I explained that my I could not spot my spirit guide, the Hawk, soaring above and that I didn’t feel comfortable – that it may not be safe. They all started laughing at me, making fun of me and saying I was a superstitious Indian. Even though I was still uncomfortable, I didn’t like my friends making fun of me so I told them that I would go. So off we went. This was a dirt road that we had spotted near Sand Beach which was about half way to Wells Beach. None of us had ever been on it before, but it looked like a good road as it was twisty, bumpy and had some good uphill climbs. We especially liked these kinds of roads as they often had the types of hills we could ride really fast on and we could feel butterflies in our stomachs as we rode over the top of a crest.

We were all laughing and joking (still making fun of me and my spirit guide). I was second in the pack and we were going up a steep hill really fast. We could see the crest a short distance away so we all really started pedaling as hard and fast as we could anticipating the thrill of going back downhill. My friend Gregory was leading us. He was a short distance ahead of me, and he was first to reach the top of the hill. As he was about to go over the top when from out of nowhere a Red-Tailed Hawk shot out in front of him, wings and talons outstretched and let out an ear-piercing screech. Gregory was so shocked that he immediately fell to the ground. I hit his bike and also fell down, and everyone else crashed into us and also fell down. When we got up we looked at the road ahead of us. About 5 feet in front of Gregory was a 70 foot drop-off! The road we had chosen to ride on was a mining road. Had the Hawk not frightened us we would have all gone over the edge. My friends all looked at me and then looked at the Hawk as it soared away, then they looked back at me. We were all dumb-founded, realizing that the Hawk, my spirit guide, had saved all of our lives. They all apologized for making fun of me. From that day forward whenever we went bike-riding, we would all look for the Hawk and if we didn’t spot it we wouldn’t go. I would always remember Mum’s words that whenever I saw a Hawk (or in this case – didn’t see one) I should pay particular attention as it was trying to tell me an important message.

Years later, I found out that Hawks need to hunt in areas that have not had the ecosystem destroyed. The strip mine had done exactly that and this was the reason I had not initially seen any Hawks soaring above the area. However, this does not explain why that one Hawk that frightened us was in the area. The only explanation I have for this is that the Hawk was watching out for, and protecting me.

To this day I think of Hawk as a friend, brother, teacher, companion, guide, mentor, and Manitou.

Until next time, walk in peace,
Steve

Copyright © 1995-2008 Stephen L. Miller