Flight of the Hummingbird
A parable for the environment
MICHAEL NICOL YAHGULANAS
2008
Nominee for the 2011 Willow Awards
“Flight of the hummingbird reminds us all that power is not always about size. It is, however, always about commitment.”
Written and illustrated by Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas, who lives in Masset, a village in Haida Gwaii. Foreword by Nobel Peace prize winner, Wangari Maathai, who planted seven trees in Kenya, an act that began a movement of individuals planting more than 30 million trees across Kenya. Afterword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Nobel Prize recipient, whose 72 books carry the message of nonviolence, universal responsibility, and compassion.
A raging forest fire threatens to destroy the homes and lives of all its
inhabitants. Animals, large and small panic and run to the edge of the forest to watch the devastation unfold. The crisis is horrifyingly real, monstrous in magnitude, and sure to consume the safety and security of every creature living there. Dukdukdiya, the little hummingbird, was the only one who refused to abandon the forest.
The situation was dire, yet the the forest animals chose to do nothing, each
with their own explanation of why any action they would take would be futile. Still, the fire consumed more and more of everything they held dear. The little hummingbird flew to the stream, picked up a single drop of water in her beak and flew back to drop it on the fire.
Back and forth, bead by bead, the little hummingbird persisted, ignoring the explanations and excuses as to why the other creatures were unable to assist her in this monumental effort. Finally, a large bear looked up and asked her what she was doing. Without pausing from the enormity of her mission, the little hummingbird looked down at all the animals and said “I am doing what I can.”
The parable, simply told, is one that for me, most aptly describes the work of every individual committed to stopping the fire that is consuming our vulnerable female population.
From activists, to social workers, to psychiatrists, psychologists, counsellors, and policymakers, this story will resonate because it is so familiar. To the mothers, cousins, sisters and brothers of missing and murdered women, those who post pictures of loved ones on websites chronicling heartbreaking tragedies in the hopes of creating a movement, a call to action, to stop this violence from destroying more lives, this parable mirrors their valiant efforts to wake people up to the fire that will, if left unchecked, destroy many more women, children, families.
All front-line workers are heroes. All those working to end violence are the hummingbirds, as are all those affected by violence who still choose to get up in the morning, put one foot in front of the other and face another day. It takes courage to continue this effort, and yet daily, women and men step up to provide education, support, therapeutic intervention, and faith to survivors, families, and communities.
Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas wrote a parable for the environment. With the
agonizing slowness to address, and finally bring to an end, Robert Picton’s
devastation of the downtown Eastside’s female population and with the River of Tears cases still unresolved, this parable becomes even more apt. This parable is both a call to action, and a validation to those who tirelessly work as caregivers, sentries, activists on behalf of those unable to protect themselves.
Michael Yahgulanaas has dedicated his life to social and environmental issues. The Flight of the Hummingbird imparts his passionate belief in the power of the small. This best seller is available in five languages.
ISBN: 9781553653721
Pages: 64
Retail price at ODIN BOOKS $18.00