MNO GBMC Senator Ken Fraser (left)
presents Jimmy Tailbot (right) of the Defense
Aboriginal Advisory Group with an Eagle
Feather. Click here for larger picture.
On February 28, 2017, at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Borden near Barrie, Senator Ken Fraser of the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) Georgian Bay Métis Council (GBMC) presented Jimmy Tailbot with the Defense Aboriginal Advisory Group (DAAG) with an Eagle Feather. Senator Fraser presented the Eagle Feather to the DAAG on behalf of the Georgian Bay Métis community and it will be added to DAAG’s Eagle Staff. Senator Fraser was assisted during the ceremony by MNO Veterans’ Council Secretary Greg Garrett.
The mission of the Defence Aboriginal Advisory Group is to advise Commanders on significant issues affecting the lives of Aboriginal people working at the Department of National Defence (DND) and serving in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). The members of the Group support the chain of command in their mandate to foster awareness of Aboriginal issues, recruiting and retention issues and also provide a forum for Aboriginal peoples to gather and support one another as they exercise their unique cultural, spiritual and traditional identities within DND and the CAF.
The presentation was meaningful as the feather that Senator Fraser presented was the only Eagle Feather that he possessed. Senator Fraser also presented Tailbot with a small Métis sash and a medicine bag. Another gift that Senator Fraser provided to Tailbot was a book so that each keeper of the Eagle Staff can record its history, including where each element of the staff originated.
Following the presentation, a ceremonial group formed and proceeded to the forest near CFB Borden. There the group harvested cedar to beadded to the Eagle Staff. All of those in attendance assisted in the harvest and prayers were offered.
The Eagle Staff is expected to be completed by May 25, 2017, and will be used during the Grand Entry parade as part of the CFB Borden’s Aboriginal Veterans Day.
Posted: March 16, 2017