Kekekwe

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Each morning I lovingly say, "Hi, Crazy Lady," to Carson the Red-tailed Hawk. This nickname most often comes out when she is most active and vocal in the spring (breeding season) and fall (migration season).

But I started rethinking my morning greeting during her daily weigh-in in the office this week. A few volunteers happened to be taking a break from exhibit construction and stopped to admire the impressive hawk. We asked our fantastic volunteer, Val, what Carson would be called in the Ojibwe language. "Kekekwe," she said. "Lady hawk."

Kekekwe*. What a lovely word. I wondered if the name originated from a hawk's vocalizations. Carson commonly makes short shrieks as part of our morning routine. I could never quite describe them, but "kek-kek-kek" might be a good term for these calls:


Maybe I could start to use kekekwe as a kinder nickname for Carson's morning greetings. Though I may still call her "crazy" sometimes, I love the idea of using a name that almost seems to come from the hawk's own language.


*To my ear, kekekwe is pronounced "kay-kake-way"

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