Grandfather “Owl Talks” (Leonard Day Rider) was born and raised on the Blood Indian Reserve in southwestern Alberta, half an hour from the Montana border. Owl Talks is a member of the Blackfoot Confederacy (Kainai-Bloods, Siksika, Peigan-Piikani, and Aamskapi Pikuni) and the First Nations reserve is the largest in Canada. The traditional territory of the Blackfoot Confederacy stretches across the southern half of Alberta and Saskatchewan and the northern portion of Montana.
Owl Talks is a full-blood First Nation Elder and presents himself as a simple human-being who has retained his cultural, traditional, and spiritual way of life over his many decades. He is a humble and true “Spiritual Keeper and Caretaker” of the Big Drum, Piercing Sun Dance Pipe, Wisdom and Knowledge Keeper, Spiritual Advisor, Sun Dance Leader, and Revered Storyteller.
Grandfather Owl Talks teaches the universal principles of Honesty, Responsibility, Respect, Trust, and essentially “How to Help Each Other, How to Care For One Another, How to Share With One Another, How to Love One Another,” and ultimately what it means to be human . Owl Talks has used every moment of his unique and challenging life as an example and has had an enduring impact on the myriad relations who have come into his life and his home.
A victim of his time, at age four he was forcibly removed from his home and placed into a residential school and endured 10 years of unimaginable abuse until he escaped at 14. His inner ‘knowing’ pushed him to educate himself. He intuited that education would help him make his way and so he worked diligently to put himself through community college and university.
In Owl Talks’ unique life journey, he has been a semi-pro hockey player, business owner/consultant/advisor, engineer, teacher, and deeply-loved community leader. But his most important role on the planet has been as a father and family man.
Grandfather is eternally grateful for those who support him by becoming a patron, by offering prayers, or even a simple share on social media. “I will always remember you and I will always pray for you.”
You can enjoy Owl Talks’ stories, teachings, songs, and reverence for all creations by visiting his Patreon page. They will change your life.