Originally broadcast in Season One of the Deep Roots Initiative, Cortes Radio, CKTZ, 89.5 FM

Western culture paints wolves with a dark brush as evil characters in myths and fairytales, but perhaps that’s because they’re more like us than we care to admit. Natalia Auger Nybida takes a deep look at the essential role wolves play in our ecosystem.

Episode #1: Who Speaks For Brother Wolf?

What would you Say To Brother Wolf?

“It is a beautiful little quote written by … Ed Young, in a little book of his. It is actually the dedication of the book. He wrote, “To all the wolves of the world, thank-you for lending your good name as a tangible symbol of our darkness’ And again it echoes what Gary Lopez said, how wolves are there and they bounce back or mirror back the things that we need to deal with … I would say to brother wolf thank-you for the gifts. Thank-you for the gift, by looking at you, of seeing myself and seeing those parts of myself that are dark, that need work, that I might bot be comfortable with and that I can move forward with. An I think that is at the root of our relationship with wolves, is that they challenge us … And so I would say thank-you to the wolf for the gift of introspection they give us as another species that also lives in a very similar familial way.”

Acknowledgements

Thank you biologists, activists, educators and dancers who shared their time, and wisdom with me. Renee Owens, John Davis, Sabina Leader Mense, Carla Voyageur. Thank you also to Ken Hanuse for sharing his voice in reading Chief Dan George’s writing. ~ Natalia

Top Photo Credit: Wolf Haven by Tim Griffin via Flickr (CC BY SA, 2.0 License)