Death of a bearwalker.

An Ontario High Court Justice in northern Ontario recently acquitted an aboriginal man on a charge of murder, citing among other factors, the accused's belief that the victim was a bearwalker.

The court heard testimony from several witnesses about bearwalkers. According to traditional aboriginal beliefs, a bearwalker is a person who causes harm to others by the use of bad medicine, striking fear into others that may result in sickness or death if not counteracted with good medicine. A bearwalker can transform himself into animal forms such as a bear, in a process called shape-shifting, and will have enormous physical strength.

The accused was a young, slight and gentle man with no previous history of violent acts. He was a member of the Sheguiandah First Nation, following the …