Winnipeg police offer eagle feather as option for sworn statements

The Winnipeg Police Service said Wednesday citizens and police officers have the option of swearing a legal oath by using an eagle feather.

Before the change, the options were to swear an oath on the Bible or make an affirmation.

Eagle feathers are regarded as sacred items by Indigenous Peoples, and when a person holds them, they’re expected to speak honestly, truthfully and with integrity. The feathers will be available at all division offices.

Sheila North, the external Indigenous relations adviser for the police service, said not everyone is comfortable with swearing on the Bible.

“I’m very happy that the service is doing this, and it feels it to me, it’s like they’re meeting people where they’re at,” North said at a news conference Wednesday. “(People) have the option now to to use the eagle feather as their oath, as their strength when they’re making their statements.”

WPS Chief Gene Bowers said the initiative is part of the service’s effort to weave reconciliation into its operations. The police service consulted with its Indigenous working group to establish the protocol.

Bowers said the initiative also provides Indigenous members of the police service to draw on their lived experiences to help guide reconciliation.

“Everybody’s come together on this project and worked together to bring it to today,” he said.

The six feathers were harvested from two eagles and certified by Manitoba Conservation. The feathers were prepared according to traditional protocols and are beaded with the colours of the medicine wheel and four nations.

Women participating in the Indigenous traditional program at the Behavioural Health Foundation, an addiction treatment facility in St. Norbert, did the beadwork.

Students at R.B. Russell Vocational School built the boxes the feathers will be stored in, which are adorned with traditional Indigenous symbols.

Since 2019, Manitoba courts have offered the option of eagle feathers when swearing an oath before giving testimony. Law enforcement agencies and courtrooms across Canada have adopted the eagle feather as an option over the last several years.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca