Environmental Impacts

While this box could just be an artistic depiction of a random bird, from the relationship that Indigenous people have with nature, the selection of this bird specifically could have been very deliberate. Baltimore Orioles are migratory birds that inhabit southern Canada and Michigan ecosystems in the spring and summer and fly south for the fall and winter (Baltimore Oriole - Range - eBird Status and Trends). Populations of Baltimore Orioles have been declining in recent years due to a loss of their nesting habitats in American elm trees, which are being killed by a disease. These birds also eat a diet that consists of berries and insects, and they live in or on the edges of forests (Kaufman). Lorraine could have deliberately chosen Baltimore Orioles because of her interactions with them in the regions of Canada that she lived in. The bird on the box is carrying a branch with red berries on it which might symbolize how Baltimore Orioles migrate and spread seeds to other places. This depiction could also have been a reflection on the similarities between migratory birds and the nomadic ways of early Indigenous communities. She also could have chosen them because she knew about the risks to their populations and wanted to bring awareness to their species.