Le, Vincent

Mr. Wisner

World History

1st Period T/R

12/7/16

A Proposal for a Canadian National Bird Ruffles Feathers

Link to article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/06/world/canada/canada-national-bird-gray-jay.html?ref=worl
d

Key Vocabulary from the Article (Define at least 4).

o avian-of or relating to birds
o Prominent -important; famous.
o monogamous- having one spouse at a time.
o roster- a list or plan showing turns of duty or leave for individuals or groups in an
organization

Summary of the Event (at least 3 major points; each point will have its own paragraph)

A. Its been about 150 years since Canada was a country, and one thing that other countries
have that Canada wishes to have is, a national bird. Americas, Mexico, etc have one, but
Canada doesnt. This topic was brought up the Canadian Geographic Society, which set
up a website to vote for Canada's favorite bird. The highest vote chosen by the people
wasnt guaranteed to be the national bird, but instead from experts on the situation.
B. The society held a debate for this topic, and the suggested bird was the Grey Jay. The
good thing about the bird is that its located in all 13 of Canadas provinces. The bad part
is that most Canadians have never even seen/heard of the bird, due to it living far up into
the forests. A professor named David Bird (Im not sure if this was on purpose or pure
coincidence) listed reasons on why the Grey Jay should be the nation bird. He states that
grey jays remain monogamous, they stay in Canada even in winter, and when greeted, or
 meeting humans, the grey birds tend to fly to people, and sit on their clothing. He list
these reasons to show how loyal, friendly, etc these birds can be.
C. However, the bird just isnt as popular to Canadians as the other birds are that were
offered on the website. Some people were offended, explaining that the birds that placed
higher than the grey jay deserve at least some consideration, They also argue that they
dont see grey jays, so it wouldnt be fit as a national symbol for Canada. Mr. Kylie, a an
editor of the magazine this whole topic is being published in, argues that the loon, and the
snowy owl (the two highest voted birds on the website) were already symbols of Canada,
and having that bird represent again seems repetitive. He also says that although an
average Canadian would not see the beaver, a national symbol of Canada, people are
complaining that it is never seen, much like the beaver.

Your Opinion of the Event (at least 3 sentences).

My opinion on this article is that I think that they should have the Grey Jay as their national bird.
My opinion might not be entirely the best, due to me being an American, but just from reading
this article gives me enough information to form an idea. For one, it does live in all parts of
Canada, which is an excellent symbol of loyalty. I also agree with Kylie, when he saids that the
loon, and snowy owl shouldnt be used, because Canada has been a country for 150 years, it
should commemorate its birthday with new, and not a reused symbol.

Relate your Event to a Historical Event (compare and contrast with current event).
A historical event relating to this topic would be Americas decision deciding their national
symbol: Bald Eagle, or a Turkey. On July 4th, 1776, a group of people were appointed to choose
the national symbol for the United States of America. This group couldnt agree on a bird, so
they agreed that a drawing of the statue of liberty holding a shield would do. The members of
congress did not like, nor agreed with the symbol, so they took it upon themselves to ask an artist
for help. He drew a golden eagle. At the time, America was fighting against britain, and britain
was populated with Golden Eagle, so it was changed to the American Bald Eagle, because of its
fierceness. The similarities of these two events is that they are both pertaining to the
governments decisions on a national symbol. The difference is that This event was dated in
America, and more 100 years ago, while the crisis in Canada is only recent, and has been around
a couple of months

Relate your Event to the a Theme (at least 3 sentences). SEE BACK FOR THEMES

My event relates to my theme as it is classified as nationalism, and conflict under political

structures. It relates because of the conflict whether what bird should be Canadas national bird.
Because of the mixed emotions of the proposed bird, the patriotic feeling, and the emotion of
problems arises, and continues to raise awareness of the issue. Patritism, and a Country that
youre proud of is a big deal, and this conflict is a serious one.

Questions You Have About the Event (4).

1. What was the website for the Canadian Voting, and how many options of birds were
there to choose from?

2. When will this topic, or the national bird actually be announced? This article was written in
December, but the controversy goes back to September.

3. Because of Canadas reputation, and stereotype for being the nicest, and most innocent people,
do you think that if the Grey Jay was to become the national bird, would it cause national
uprising, similar to trump being the elected nominee for president?

4. Will a society with the power to give the Grey Jay an official name be able to change it from
the Americanized spelling of Gray Jay, to Grey Jay?
THEMES:

1.Cultural Interaction 2.Political Structures

o Religions o State-building, expansion, and conflict

o Belief systems, philosophies, o Empires

and ideologies

o Science and technology o Nations and nationalism

o The arts and architecture o Revolts and revolutions

3.Economic Structures 4.Social Structures

o Agricultural and pastoral o Gender roles and relations

production

o Trade and commerce o Family and kinship

o Labor systems o Racial and ethnic constructions

o Industrialization o Social and economic classes

o Economic theories

5.Human-Environment Interaction

o Disease

o Migration & patterns of

settlement

o Population growth
o Technology