The Bald-Eagle Sitka

**The Bald-Eagle Sitka** is The Male-Bald Eagle.

He is the elder brother of Denahi and Kenai. **After, Sitka defended Denahi and Kenai from a bear attack, sacrificing his life in the process. Enraged over Sitka's death, Kenai pursued the bear and slayed it to get his revenge. However, the bear's senseless death disturbed Sitka, who transformed Kenai into a bear in order to help him gain a new perspective on his actions.** While Kenai journeyed to the Mountain Where the Lights Touch the Earth in the hopes of convincing Sitka to transform him back into a human, Sitka monitored his progress in eagle form. Similarly, Sitka guided Denahi, who was pursuing Kenai's bear form to enact vengeance for the perceived deaths of both his brothers. Eventually, the brothers had a confrontation, and Sitka saved Kenai from dying at Denahi's hands. **After transforming Kenai back into a human, Sitka helped reconcile his formerly feuding brothers. Kenai then asked to be transformed back into a bear due to his relationship with a bear cub named Koda, and Sitka granted his request. The brothers shared a final embrace before Sitka returned to the heavens to rejoin the Great Spirits.**

## Biography

### Background

Sitka was born as the elder brother of Denahi and Kenai. It is implied that Sitka raised and took care of both his brothers.

When Sitka came of age, he was given his totem: the Eagle of Guidance. Though initially unsure of what his totem meant, he grew to understand that it was about being a leader and caring for his younger brothers.

### *Brother Bear*

While out with his brothers, Denahi and Kenai, Sitka spots Kenai fleeing a stampede of caribou. The brothers take shelter behind their canoes, after which Denahi scuffles with Kenai over the incident. Sitka breaks up the fight, reminding them that they will only be able to return to the village for Kenai's ceremony once they have caught enough salmon.

The brothers leave in their canoes and paddle back to the village. Along the way, Sitka and Denahi attempt to catch salmon with a net, but Kenai disturbs their work by riding on the back of a mammoth. Though Denahi is annoyed, Sitka is amused by his brother's antics. Eventually, the brothers return to the village with a net full of salmon, which Kenai deposits into a basket and ties up in a tree. Meanwhile, Sitka and Denahi run ahead to join in on the ceremony.

The ceremony begins, with Sitka and Denahi spectating from the audience. The tribe's shawoman, Tanana, gives Kenai his totem, the Bear of Love, to his disappointment.

After the ceremony, Denahi makes fun of Kenai for the totem, and Sitka has to restrain Kenai from fighting back, reminding him that Denahi is not wise simply because his totem means wisdom. He then confesses that he had initially been confused about his own totem, the Eagle of Guidance, until he had grown older and realized that he was meant to be a leader and a caregiver to his brothers. This comforts Kenai, but he confesses that he wants to put his handprint on the wall of his ancestors. In answer, Sitka advises him to be patient and live by his totem.

Just then, Denahi accuses Kenai of not having tied up their basket of fish well enough, which had allowed a bear to make off with it. Before the brothers can get into a fight, Sitka tells them that they can simply make another basket, but Denahi protests that it had taken him two weeks to make the last one. Kenai then leaves to retrieve it, ignoring Sitka's protests.

Sitka and Denahi follow after Kenai and are alerted to his presence when he screams and falls off a ridge. An anxious Sitka rushes to Kenai's aid and reaches down to help him to safety, but Kenai warns him that the bear is behind him. Before the bear can harm Sitka, Denahi distracts it and lures it onto an unstable glacier. In the meantime, Sitka helps Kenai clamber back to the top of the ridge, and both brothers rush to Denahi's aid.

While Kenai helps Denahi, who has fallen through a fissure in the ice, Sitka takes on the bear. However, the bear quickly overpowers him and advances on Denahi and Kenai. In order to save his brothers, Sitka stabs his spear into the glacier and breaks it apart, causing it to fall into the water below, taking both himself and the bear with it.

After Sitka's fall, Denahi and Kenai comb the water for him, but find only his hood. That night, the tribe mourns for Sitka, holding a funeral for him in which his totem is burned in a ceremonial pyre.

Shortly after the funeral, Kenai argues with Denahi that they should hunt down the bear that had killed Sitka, but Denahi refuses, believing it to be wrong. Kenai reminds him that the bear is responsible for Sitka's death, but Denahi retorts coldly that he does not blame the bear. Despite this, Kenai departs to enact his revenge, and after a moment, Denahi follows, intent on stopping him. Meanwhile, Tanana speaks to Sitka's spirit, telling him that his brothers need his guidance.

Eventually, Kenai tracks down the bear responsible for Sitka's death and slays it atop the Mountain Where the Lights Touch the Earth. Incensed by the senseless death, the Great Spirits appear overhead, and Sitka materializes before Kenai in spirit form, indicating the body of the bear as it is swept into the heavens to join the spirits. Then, in eagle form, Sitka lifts Kenai into the air and transforms him into a bear.

Later, after Kenai falls into a river and is swept ashore in an unfamiliar forest, Sitka appears as an eagle, watching over his brother. He tracks Kenai on his journey, watching him again when he is riding on mammoths by night and when he enters the Valley of Fire. Sitka appears also to Denahi, who is hunting Kenai's bear form in vengeance, believing it to have killed both his brothers. Denahi recognizes Sitka's eagle form and follows it to where Kenai is waiting on the mountainside. This prompts a fight between the brothers.

Before Denahi can fatally stab Kenai, Sitka lifts Kenai out of danger and transforms him back into a human. He then approaches Denahi, taking both his cloak and Kenai's totem, and gives them to Kenai. Afterward, Kenai has a touching moment with Koda, his bear cub friend. Worried over Koda's fate, Kenai tells Sitka that Koda needs him, and Sitka grants Kenai's request by transforming him back into a bear. He then embraces his brothers before returning to the heavens.

Finally, Sitka appears in eagle form, watching as Kenai places his paw print on the wall of his ancestors.

### *Brother Bear 2*

Sitka makes a brief cameo in eagle form during Nita's transformation.

## Physical appearance

Sitka is identifiable by his parka, which is burgundy with white trim. He wears his totem, the Eagle of Guidance, under his clothes. **As the eldest of his brothers, Sitka is the largest, with a tall stature, large frame, and broad shoulders. Like his tribesmen, he is bronze-skinned and has black hair, which he wears long, with part of the hair pulled into a tail. Additionally, he has a thin ring of black beard on his chin. His eyes are brown.** As an eagle, Sitka is dignified and sharp-featured. His feathers are brown, and he has a crown of white on his head. His eyes are a piercing yellow.

## Personality and traits

Despite Sitka's patience, he is a firm teacher and does not restrain from doling out punishment. When Kenai kills the bear that had caused Sitka's death, Sitka responds with disappointment and transforms Kenai into a bear in order to teach him why his actions had been misplaced. However, despite his indignation at Kenai's actions, Sitka continues to watch over him, monitoring his journey and ultimately saving him from harm at the hands of Denahi.

## Trivia

* Sitka is voiced by D.B. Sweeney.
* Sitka is named for a city in Alaska.
* The song heard during Kenai's transformation into a bear is likely sung from Sitka's perspective, as the singer speaks of Kenai's heart "turning away" from him and of the singer wanting Kenai to understand a new perspective. This is exactly what Tanana claims is Sitka's reason for transforming Kenai into a bear in *Brother Bear*.