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Guygan t1_j5femxo wrote

Gray Jays are renowned for being super interactive and friendly with humans. This is so cool.

> Found throughout Canada, the bird is popularly known by several colloquial names. One is "whisky jack", a variation on the name of Wisakedjak, a benevolent trickster and cultural hero in Cree, Algonquin, and Menominee mythologies. Alternate spellings for this name include wesakechak, wiskedjak, whiskachon, and wisakadjak. The Tlingit people of northwestern North America know it as kooyéix or taatl'eeshdéi, "camp robber". According to the Mi'kmaq of Nova Scotia, each of the seven stars of the Big Dipper depicted a different bird; the star Eta Ursae Majoris in the night sky was a Canada jay, Mikjaqoqwej. In anishinaabemowin, or the Ojibwe language, the bird is known as gwiingwiishi."... the whisky jack is revered by indigenous peoples as an omen of good fortune and a warning of danger. Niigaanwewidam Sinclair, an associate professor and acting head of the department of native studies at the University of Manitoba, explained why the mischievous yet wise grey jay is important to the Anishinaabe people. "To my people, the Anishinaabe, she is Gwiingwiishi", Sinclair said in a post published by Canadian Geographic magazine. "Gwiingwiishi is a great, wise teacher, and there is an old story that tells of her abilities to give gifts...

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giveuschannel83 t1_j5g0yxx wrote

I met some up in northern Minnesota. Took like all of 10 minutes of standing outside to get them eating out of my hand. They’re so cute and fluffy too ❤️

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joysef99 t1_j5g9sxd wrote

As a fellow gray jay lover with the same surname, I approve of this message.😍

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