BigBearStyle

I was just wondering if the border guards are still permiting eagle feathers across the border. I heard somewhere they were cracking down for whatever reason. I haven't heard yet is anyone has really been charged with anything yet. I was just curiouse to know if anyone out there in Indian country has heard anything.

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Tvskekee

Hi there BigBear,

I just went up to Canada 2 weeks ago and I had a few "things" with me. the border gaurds made me stop and pull over, they checked my car inside and out and when they checked the trunk they saw my hand drum and some other things wrapped up really good. My cedar box with my feathers was right there too and the one gaurd asked the other should we check this stuff out. The older gaurd looked at me and said no, the ones we're checking out are the one who are obviously not native.
They closed the trunk and said enjoy your stay in Canada. No problems coming back into the States either, which kinda surprised me. So maybe I got lucky I dont know, Ihavent heard of any horror stories from anyone else but I would make sure you have any paperwork that they might require just in case they try to pull something.

Kiwehnzii

I cross the border regularly for powwows. I haven't had any problems (knock on wood) but they do harass anybody that doesn't appear or sound to be Native North American. They usually ask for a response from everyone in the vehicle just so they can here the accent.
If you don't look unmistakenably NDN, yer liable to get questioned more thoroughly.It's probably good to carry documents just to be sure. I haven't heard for sure if anybody's had their feathers taken away. Just unsubstantiated rumors.

powwow_chick2001

My lil sister was coming back from Canada and they took her fan because she didnt have a permit. Then they gave it back but said that she had to leave it with our family in Canada until she got a permit to transport them.

prettydark

i will ask my mom, she lives a kilometer from the emerson border.... this topic has been of great interest to her and my family...

maybe i will get them to sign up here... :)

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powwowbum49

Those folks working that Emerson/Pembina crossing are a pain in the butt. I am not even going to go into all the hassle they gave me and my wife when we came through there last year. I will never go through that border crossing again!!! I will travel an extra day if I have to to avoid that crossing. The officials on both sides of that border have a bad case of the 'big head', they definitely think they are somebody and feel the need to prove it. It still burns my butt how rude they all were.

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PB49

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." Pablo Picasso


My comments are based on what I have been taught and my experiences over the years I have been around the circle. They should in no way be taken as gospel truths and are merely my opinions or attempts at passing on what I have learned while still learning more.

prettydark

i think we should all try to identify where the problem is... are we talking about the american border cops or the canadian border cops?

emerson has become really big in the past few years. they have had to crack down a lot lately... if you are passing through at a regular time of day (like, before 11 pm, i think,) there is another border crossing on the minnesota side of the red river...

as to the eagle feathers, i've talked to my mom... like i said, she has taken a personal interest in this...

for canadians going into the states, we can get our feathers confiscated because we don't have those licenses from the american fish and game people... and we can't get them because we're not american...

at least i THINK that's what my mom said. :)

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