Tara Kearsey
Northern News Services

Rae Edzo ( Jun 12/00) - The call of an eagle is a familiar sound to many throughout the North.

But residents of Rae-Edzo probably wonder whether they're hearing the great bird off in the distance, or one of their own doing her best to mimic the screech.

It could be Alice Mantla performing her eagle imitation, which was the case during the Dogrib cultural fair held recently in the hamlet.

As visiting parents and guests travelled from classroom to classroom at Elizabeth MacKenzie school viewing numerous displays, the cry of an eagle shrilled throughout the building.

Many heads turned, wondering where the sound was coming from.

Perched high atop a glass display case in the corridor was a stuffed eagle. Mantla stood just a few feet away.

Visitors looked around, confused, until someone asked where the sound was coming from.

Rosa Whane pointed in Mantla's direction: "It's her."

Mantla learned to master the eagle's call during her visit to Expo '86 in Vancouver, where she performed a Dogrib drum dance with other Northerners at the popular NWT pavilion.

"There was one guy that came up on the stage and made that sound, and I figured I could do that, so I did and have been since then," said Mantla.

It's not a difficult skill to master, according to Mantla. She says anyone can learn how to do it.

"If they can yell, they can do it," she said.

But how?

"Just make a squeaky noise in the back (of your throat)," said Mantla.

Sounds easy enough. After all, it didn't take long for Mantla to master the skill.

Maybe she was an eagle in a former life.

"Yeah, maybe," she agrees, laughing.