Blackbear

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EPISODE 2

JUNE 10, 2005

CBC News
Duncan McCue

The eagles of North America are a threatened -and protected- species, but
someone out there doesn't seem to care.

Thegolden eagle of the American Plains wasalmost wiped out last century,
thanks to egg-thinning pesticides, loss of habitat and government-sanctioned
'vermin hunts.' Its cousin, thebald eagle (found more along coastlines) was
threatened too.
Both the United States and Canada responded by making the eagles, the
embodiment of potent religious and national symbolism, protected species; both the
U.S. andCanada enacted tough laws carrying stiff penalties for anyone caught
threatening the birds.
Earlier this year,those laws failed. Back in February, as many as 50 bald
eagleswere found butchered andburied in shallow graves near two native reserves
north of Vancouver. Their wings, heads, tails and talons had been cut off.The
case remains unsolved.
Deep inside the U.S. military's old rocky mountain arsenal in Colorado sits a
safety deposit box containing eagle parts: feathers, talons, beaks... It is
called theNational Eagle Repository, and it functions essentially as an eagle
graveyard.
The eagle feathers are guarded like gold; a single feather can fetch as much
$100 on the black market.
David Hancock, a biologist, has studied eagles and native issues for more
than 50 years. For Hancock, the B.C. eagle slaughter wasn't so much a 'whodunit'
mystery, as a mystery of 'who wants it?': "Where were these eagles' parts
headed, and why? Investigators here said the parts were bound for Native Americans
in the Southwestern United States for religious and ceremonial use... We
thought we'd try to find out ourselves, to see if we could follow the eagle parts
pipeline."
According to Hancock, the eagle parts pipeline feeds a commercial market -
not a religious one.
"The suggestion that the bald eagles' feathers and their parts, their heads
and their feet, are being used for religious purposes is a crock," he insists.
"The tradition was always that the headdresses, the bustles, these were the
feathers of golden eagles."
Now, however, bald eagle feathers have been incorporated into the
headdresses, despite the fact that "there's no religious significance" for using bald
eagle features in Native American cultures, says Hancock. "The demand now is
being driven by the powwow circuit," he charges. "It is demanding these feathers
from our west coast eagles, and it's the powwow circuit that unfortunately
drives this market onwards."
One of the top powwows in North America occurs at Stanford University, just
south of San Francisco. For three days, people flock to theStanford Powwow for
singing, dancing and drumming.
But the event is more social than spiritual. Thousands of dollars in prizes
are at stake. The spectacular outfits worn by participants count almost as much
as the performances. Eagle feathers are everywhere. Jerome Tsinnajinnie, 25,
dances with feathers given to him by his father. He's in the Men's Northern
Traditional competition, despite the fact that he's from the southwest, and
Navajo.
"This style of dance is not really my original style," he says. "This comes
from the Plains Indians up north, South Dakota into Canada. My style of dance
we do for ceremonies, which is totally different to this. But this is what I
grew up as, because now it's all over Indian country."
Like many competitors, Tsinnajinnie has embraced what's becoming a pan-Indian
look: the quest to be the dancer with the most eagle feathers.
Matt Snipp is also in the crowd. He's Cherokee and Choctaw - and the chair of
Native American Studies at Stanford. Snipp refutes the notion that Native
Americans would ever buy eagle feathers on the black market - the feathers are
simply viewed with such esteemed reverence, that' not a possibility:
"Indian people are easy targets. They possess these [feathers]; they're not
shy about showing people that they own them, that they have them. This is part
of their traditional culture... They're the most immediate people to blame,
but I think the people who have done that, I think aren't aware of the extent of
the trade you have in Indian artifacts in Europe as well as in this country."
German Dziebel, a doctoral student in the Department of Anthropology at
Stanford, has been exploring the lesser-known side of the European love affair with
North American Indian culture. Dziebel says powwows are not celebrations
confined to North America's borders. There are Russian, Polish and German powwows,
attended by what Dziebel calls "Euro-Indians" or "Indianists" - Europeans
seeking a simpler life. He's quick to add that these Europeans are not seeking
illicit eagle feathers:
"They are poor in eastern Europe. They don't really have much money, you
know. They try to make all their attire with their own hands... So it also has to
have a spiritual component to it; if you want to be a real Indian, you have to
do everything with your own hands... trade is not the best way to do [that]."
Which brings this story full-circle, back to the National Eagle Repository
outside Denver, Colorado. TheU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gathers up all of
the dead eagles it can find (most have died from collisions with cars, as a
result of unlawful shooting and trapping, or from natural causes).
The service then parcels out the pieces to Native Americans (the only
Americans who can legally possess them) who've signed up on the repository's waiting
list. Most applicants want a whole bird, and they'll wait three and a half
years to get it.
It's that long wait that's likely fueling the eagle parts black market, says
Gary Mowad, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife's Special Agent in the Rocky Mountains
region. Mowad points the blame back towards the powwow circuit:
"From the cultural and the religion aspect, we don't have an issue. But for
the folks who are willing to set their cultural and religious beliefs aside and
actually unlawfully purchase eagle feathers and eagle parts in hopes of
enhancing their chances to win money, well, then we certainly do have an issue."
B.C. eagle expert David Hancock says the problem begins back at theNational
Eagle Repository. "The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service collected all the dead
carcasses of both golden eagles and bald eagles, and they then turned these over
to the natives," he says. "The natives have now started to incorporate bald
eagles into these big headdresses. Now this was not traditional, it has nothing
to do with religious ceremony, but it has created an artificial demand for
bald eagle feathers.
"Now, unfortunately, here on the West Coast, our bald eagle feathers, our
bald eagles, are being shot to provide feathers for the powwow circuit."
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agrees that may be the case, though it is
in a bind: it needed to find some way to satisfy the demand for eagle
feathers; using bald eagle parts seemed like a natural solution. But now they admit
they've created a bottleneck - supply simply can't meet demand.
Meanwhile, there's no shortage of native and non-native buyers eager to fork
over cash for eagle parts. That means bald eagles in Canada, the masters of
the sky, aren't safe from one very dangerous predator: anyone bent on making a
quick buck.







CORRESPONDENT

Duncan McCue
Reporter
CBC News


Earlier this year, conservation officers in British Columbia discovered the
remains of scores of dead and mutilated bald eagle carcasses. (CBC News)


RELATED LINKS

Times Seven does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of the
external links posted below. Times Seven does not necessarily agree with nor has
it verified the accuracy of information linked to. External links will open
in a new window.
Canada: Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and
Interprovincial Trade Act
U.S. Bald Eagle Protection Act of 1940
National Eagle Repository
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Stanford Powwow
Eagle slaughter called 'worst ever' - CBC News
American bald eagle no longer endangered - CBC News
Suspect identified in case of mutilated eagles - CBC News


A British Columbia police officer examines the remains of several bald eagles
discovered in North Vancouver.
(CBC Television News)

An eagle carcass is processed at theNational Eagle Repository, near Denver,
Colorado.
(Times Seven)

Eagle feathers are guarded like gold at the repository; they’re worth as much
$100 for a single feather on the black market.
(Times Seven)


FACTS

No one knows exactly how many bald eagles there are in North America.
Estimates range as high as 75,000.
About 20,000 of them live in British Columbia.
In the lower 48 states, just 8,000 have bounced back from near extinction.
The U.S. government feels that's enough toremove the eagles from the
endangered species list.
They will, however, remain protected under theMigratory Bird Treaty Act and
theBald and Golden Eagle Protection Act - protected, so long as humans don't
ignore those laws that is.








Copyright © Times Seven | 2005

__________________
Don't worry that it's not good enough for anyone else to hear... just sing, sing a song.


http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v4...Video002-1.flv

WocusWoman

Good article; my personal feelings on this are mixed. I know I would never buy an eagle feather. But I sure would like to have more than I have now. Guess I'll have to wait the 3 or mores years to get one legally!

grayback

From the article:
"Now, however, bald eagle feathers have been incorporated into the headdresses, despite the fact that "there's no religious significance" for using bald eagle features in Native American cultures, says Hancock. "The demand now is being driven by the powwow circuit," he charges. "It is demanding these feathers
from our west coast eagles, and it's the powwow circuit that unfortunately drives this market onwards."


I agree the powwow circuit, amongst other things, is driving a black market demand for feathers from both golden and bald eagles.

However, I've no idea where Hancock gets the idea that bald eagle feathers weren't used on traditional religious items. In pictures and drawings of items that WELL pre-date the year 1900, and certainly pre-date the existence of the Federal Wildlife Service, you can see bald eagle feathers. It's almost impossible to safely ID an adult bald eagle's dark plumage in a picture or drawing, but the spotted feathers of the juvenile bird are pretty unmistakable.

One of the ritual calumets collected by Lewis & Clark, now in the Smithsonian's collection, is adorned by spotted bald eagle feathers. You can't blame that on an 'artificial' demand created by the Federal government's policies. That's not the only example out there, it's just a handy one that popped to mind. You can also see spotted feathers on turn-of-the-century photos, in roaches and headdresses. They are very distinctive, although I agree they aren't 'commonly' found.

Maybe in the few plains tribes he has in mind, and with the few items he's thinking of (plains society bustles and such), they didn't use bald eagle feathers. I think one can argue, to some degree, that they may not have been the PREFERRED feathers for most items. But the juvenile bird's feathers always were, and are still, most certainly used here in the Great Lakes area... and there is evidence of it that goes back to the time when White Men were new to the country.

-grayback

eap7

This article really misses the point. As many non-Indian people are unable to understand time and again (makes me think of that I want to go to ceremonies in KY thread), our spiritual beliefs are not something we practice one day of the week, or practice only in a church, or only in a Indian ceremonial space. Just because some powwows are competitive, does not mean that eagle feathers have been completely commodified and dancers totally forget any spiritual aspects of dance styles. Whether or not the dance style is from this guy's tribe is irrelevant. Indians traded from South American all the way to Canada pre-contact, and we're still doing it now.

It also frustrates me that the article looks at only 2 potential sources of black market buyers: Indians, and "Euro-Indians" or hobbyists in Europe. I doubt one has to look all the way to Europe to find a hobbyist. What about hobbyists in America? There is no mention of them at all. No, instead there's a quote from a German graduate student saying "well Eastern Europeans are poor! They can't be buying the eagle feathers!" Many Indians in America are poor too! The article also completely ignores private collectors, regardless of race, who may be interested in buying Indian arts and crafts with authentic eagle feathers. I'm not saying that American hobbyists and collectors are to blame; probably it is a combination of Indians, non-Indian hobbyists, and private collectors who buy eagle feathers on the black market. But by completely leaving out these two other groups, the article really misses a major point AND completely blames Indians.

Finally, I do not condone buying eagle feathers. I haven't and won't. But I think the general attitude of criminalizing those who legitimately need eagle feathers for spiritual reasons or religious practices, and have to resort to illegal methods because of the long wait time at the repository, is really problematic. This article makes me think of the one "Powwows are the Biggest Killer of Eagles". Why is there all this propaganda arguing that powwows are going to be the next DDT? I think that the repository application system is confusing to some and the wait time frustrates others. I'm next going to post some other articles on this issue that I've found interesting. Again...I'M NOT CONDONING KILLING EAGLES. They are a threatened species and need to be protected. But I do think there needs to be changes in the current system and less blaming only Indians for the black market eagle trade.

eap7

By WHITNEY ROYSTER
Star-Tribune environmental reporter Wednesday, May 24, 2006 2:08 AM MDT



By WHITNEY ROYSTER
Star-Tribune environmental reporter Wednesday, May 24, 2006 2:08 AM MDT

JACKSON -- How long it takes an American Indian tribe to get dead eagles or eagle parts from the federal government for religious ceremonies seems to be a key issue for a federal judge.

During a court hearing here Tuesday, U.S. District Judge William Downes repeatedly asked witnesses to clarify how much time elapsed between the time of their application to an eagle carcass repository in Colorado and when they received a bird or bird parts.

Witnesses testified it took up to four years to receive anything.

A representative of the repository testified there is a backlog of requests, as the center does not receive many eagles, and many are in poor condition.

During what was expected to be the last day of testimony in a hearing over whether to dismiss charges against Winslow Friday, an Arapaho man who shot a bald eagle last year, both sides presented arguments to support their case. Closing arguments are expected Thursday, and it is unclear when Downes will rule on whether the case should move forward.

Northern Arapaho member Harvey Spoonhunter testified that he applied for an immature golden eagle in 1997, and in 2001 was told the repository couldn't obtain one. He said the repository sent a bald eagle, but the head and body were decayed. He said eagles from the repository "would not be acceptable" for religious ceremonies because of their poor condition.


But Spoonhunter was cagey in his responses to Downes when asked if an eagle that was shot would be acceptable for religious ceremonies. Spoonhunter first said he would not shoot a bird, then said in today's world "life has changed." He said he's not sure how birds are obtained for ceremonies.

The entire hearing is unusual, as American Indians typically do not talk about their ceremonies. Several elders from the tribe would not testify in the hearing because of their cultural beliefs.

Daniel Caldwell, another Arapaho man, said he applied for an eagle in 1998 and got a response in 2002. He said the carcass was spoiled.

Bernadette Atencio, supervising wildlife repository specialist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, testified for the government that her agency processes about 25 applications per week. She also said the waiting period for an immature golden eagle is about four years, and about two years for a bald eagle.

Atencio said there are about 4,000 pending requests.

Atencio also testified that in her previous job, she processed permit applications for lethal "take" of eagles. No permits were issued for religious purposes during her tenure from 1982 to 1995, but no applications were received.

Brian Milsap, chief of the division of migratory bird management for the Fish and Wildlife Service, said there were very few applications for lethal "take" permits before 2003, and since then there have been no requests.

Defense attorneys have argued American Indians do not know they can apply for permits to kill eagles. Atencio testified the Fish and Wildlife Service does not advertise the permits because eagles are threatened, but information is available.

Friday, an Arapaho man, is charged with illegally killing a bald eagle on March 2, 2005, on the Wind River Indian Reservation. He testified Tuesday he did not check with elders to see if it was OK for him to shoot an eagle for a religious ceremony. He also said he shot the eagle because he made a promise to his dying grandmother he would participate in a ceremony for which an eagle is required.

He also said after he shot the bird he played video games, during which an Arapaho game warden -- whose last name is also Friday -- approached him about the shooting.

"Maybe what I did was wrong, but I didn't know that," said Friday, 21.

Nathan Friday, a cousin of Winslow Friday, said he applied for a bird from the Colorado repository in 2001 and never heard anything back. Two wildlife officials said there has never been any record of his application or his name. Nathan Friday was sponsoring the ceremony for which Winslow killed the eagle, though Nathan said he did not ask his cousin to shoot a bird.

Defense attorneys maintain Friday is protected under the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act and should not be penalized. Prosecutors argue he broke the law, and if charges are dropped it could have dramatic impacts to eagle populations, with people killing them for religious ceremonies. Law enforcement would also have trouble determining who was killing birds legally versus illegally.

Bald eagles have recovered substantially since they were listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1978. They were reclassified from endangered to threatened in 1995, and Fish and Wildlife Service biologists estimate there are now more than 7,700 nesting pairs of bald eagles in the Lower 48.

Even if they are removed from the list, bald eagles would still be protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.

There is one documented pair of nesting eagles on the Wind River Indian Reservation.

Friday's charge, if it stands, carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.

Environmental reporter Whitney Royster can be reached at (307) 734-0260 or at royster@tribcsp.com.

eap7

By BEN NEARY
Associated Press writer Wednesday, March 28, 2007 2:03 AM MDT

CHEYENNE -- A federal judge in Wyoming was wrong to dismiss criminal charges against a Northern Arapaho man who shot a bald eagle for use in his tribe's Sun Dance, federal prosecutors argue in papers filed last week.

U.S. District Judge William Downes last October dismissed criminal charges against Winslow Friday. Friday and the Northern Arapaho Tribe had argued that the charges against him should be dismissed on the grounds that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service generally refuses to grant permits allowing tribal members to kill eagles even though federal regulations say the permits should be available.

The Northern Arapaho Tribe argued in Friday's case that federal records show more than 5,000 American Indians are on a waiting list to get eagle carcasses from a federal repository in Denver and that the wait is about 3 1/2 years.

In his order, Downes said that while the federal government professes respect and admiration for accommodating the religious beliefs of American Indians, "its actions show callous indifference to such practices."

"It is clear to this court that the government has no intention of accommodating the religious beliefs of Native Americans except on its own terms and in its own good time," Downes wrote.

An attempt to reach Friday for comment on Tuesday was unsuccessful. In an interview last year, he said he had no regrets about killing the eagle.


"I'm going to say no, because of what I did with the bird," Friday said last year. "I participated in our Sun Dance. No, because that made me feel good in my heart."

Robert Rogers, an assistant federal public defender in Cheyenne who represents Friday, said he's sure "Indian Country will be watching the outcome of this case closely."

"There are other prosecutions going on, here and around the country, for Native Americans who are using eagle feathers in religious ceremonies," Rogers said Tuesday. "This case will be important for this region at least."

Lawyers with the U.S. Department of Justice filed a 50-page brief in the 10th U.S. Court of Appeals in Denver last week arguing that Downes' ruling dismissing the charges was wrong.

"The district court erred in holding that Friday was not required to seek a permit because applying would have been futile," the government's brief states. "Both the Eagle Act and the regulations expressly provide for the availability of permits to take eagles for Indian religious purposes, and the record shows that take permits are in fact available and have been issued in short order."

To support their point, the federal lawyers filed an extra brief asking the appeals court to take notice of an eagle permit the Fish and Wildlife Service issued last October to the Jemez Eagle Watching Society, an American Indian group in New Mexico. The brief states the New Mexico permit reflects "the indisputable fact that the FWS has permitted the take of eagles for Indian religious purposes."

The government also notes that both the Navajo and Hopi tribes in the Southwest receive annual permits from the federal government allowing tribal members to kill eagles, and that the Hopi permit allows an annual take of up to 40 eaglets.

The government argues that it can't allow every American Indian who says they need an eagle for religious purposes to shoot one. "The record in this case shows that allowing tribal members to take eagles for religious purposes without a permit would seriously compromise the Fish and Wildlife Service's ability to administer the Eagle Act and threaten the viability of the species," the brief states.

The brief states that the National Eagle Repository receives almost 2,000 requests for whole eagles annually and has about 4,000 pending requests. "The potential demand is significant when compared to the estimated population of bald eagles of only 7,700 nesting pairs in the lower 48 states," it states.

Stuart S. Healy III, assistant U.S. attorney in Wyoming, declined to comment on Friday's case on Monday, saying his office can't talk about pending cases.

Rogers noted that seven government lawyers signed the brief. He said the Northern Arapaho Tribe has asked the appeals court for permission to file an argument on Friday's behalf.

"They are using a lot of resources," Rogers said of the federal government. "But yes, I feel we have adequate resources to meet them."

eap7

Native American faces trial for killing eagle

3:15 PM Tue, May 13, 2008 | Permalink
Bruce Tomaso E-mail News tips


A federal appeals court ruled last week that a member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe must stand trial for killing an eagle for use in a religious ceremony.
The Associated Press story is after the jump.
The court noted that federal law allows Native Americans to kill eagles for religious uses -- if they get a permit.
"Law accommodates religion," the ruling said. "It cannot wholly exempt religion from the reach of the law."

Federal appeals court orders Wyo. man to trial in eagle caseBC-WST--Bald Eagles-Religion, 1st Ld-Writethru,0689
Federal appeals court orders Wyo. man to trial in eagle case
Eds: UPDATES with details, comment.
By BEN NEARY
Associated Press Writer
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) -- A member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe who killed a bald eagle for use in his tribe's Sun Dance in 2005 must stand trial, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.
A panel of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver reversed a 2006 decision by U.S. District Judge William Downes of Wyoming that had dismissed a criminal charge against Winslow Friday of Ethete.
In dismissing the charge, Downes had ruled that the federal government does no more than pay lip service to American Indian religious practices. Downes said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service generally refuses to grant permits allowing tribal members to kill eagles, even though federal regulations say such permits should be available.
But the appeals court ruled that American Indians' religious freedoms are not violated by federal law protecting eagles or its policy requiring American Indians to get permits to kill eagles.
"Law accommodates religion," the appeals court said in its ruling. "It cannot wholly exempt religion from the reach of the law."
If convicted of killing the eagle, Friday faces a possible sentence of up to one year in jail and a fine. He declined comment on the court's ruling.
Friday has said he shot the eagle with a rifle on the Wind River Indian Reservation in central Wyoming. The reservation is home to both the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone tribes.
John T. Carlson, an assistant federal public defender who represented Friday, said the ruling "reflects a failure to grasp the unique nature of the Northern Arapaho religious practice surrounding the eagle."
Carlson said he and his client haven't decided how to respond to the ruling. Their options include asking the full appeals court to hear the case, appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court or allowing the case against Friday to proceed to trial in Wyoming, he said.
Friday, who's in his early 20s, said last year that he didn't know about a federal program that allows American Indians to apply for permits to kill eagles for religious purposes. Lawyers representing him and his tribe have argued that the Fish and Wildlife Service did its best to keep the program secret and only grudgingly issued the permits.
In his ruling, Downes said it was clear that Friday wouldn't have received a federal permit to kill an eagle if he had applied for one.
Downes wrote that the Fish and Wildlife Service has encouraged American Indians to apply to receive eagle parts from a Colorado repository that holds the remains of birds killed by power lines and other causes. He said the agency makes no effort to encourage American Indians to apply for permits to kill birds of their own.
The bald eagle was removed last year from the list of threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. The bird had been reclassified from endangered to threatened in 1995. However, bald and golden eagles are still protected under the federal Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Wyoming, which originally prosecuted Friday, could not be reached for comment on Thursday.
Kathryn E. Kovacs, a lawyer with the U.S. Department of Justice, told the federal appeals court in arguments on Friday's case last December that Friday had no standing to argue about shortcomings of the federal permitting process because he never applied for a permit before killing the eagle.
In its ruling, the appeals court agreed. The court also rejected Friday's argument that the federal Religious Freedom Restitution Act, which prohibits the government from placing undue burdens on religious practices, should block the federal government from prosecuting him for killing the eagle.
The Northern Arapaho Tribe intervened in the case in support of Friday.
"I think overall, we brought attention to the fact that there is this permit system that is out there that the feds have been concealing," said Chris Schneider, lawyer for the tribe. "So at least that way, it is a victory for the Northern Arapaho Tribe and Winslow Friday. He's a very courageous young man to have challenged this."
AP-WS-05-08-08 1738EDT

grayback

eap7:

"Finally, I do not condone buying eagle feathers. I haven't and won't. But I think the general attitude of criminalizing those who legitimately need eagle feathers for spiritual reasons or religious practices, and have to resort to illegal methods because of the long wait time at the repository, is really problematic."

I think sometimes we're ALL missing the point. I had a reply in the thread on 'eagle feathers', which basically says that I don't understand why we're suddenly relying upon the Feds and the Repository to present us with the feathers we need for spiritual reasons. Go and stand at virtually any powwow today. You are surrounded on all sides by more eagle feathers than you can count. While some dancers might LIKE having 60+ some feathers on their outfits, they don't NEED them. You aren't sixty times 'more spiritual', than if you have just one feather. An eagle feather is an eagle feather.. although of course, we all know that isn't true. Some are definitely more 'desirable' than others. It's cooler looking to have 60, than it is to have just 30... at least if you're a certain kind of dancer. It's far better to have a bustle of black tips, than it is to have ordinary looking brown bald eagle feathers... which may just as well be goose feathers, eh?

We shouldn't be begging the Feds for feathers. We should be looking to ourselves, and redistributing the feathers we already have in a more equitable and respectful fashion, instead of hoarding them because it's the current regalia style. If some people in a tribe are suffering through ceremonies with no eagle feather at all, then why isn't some dancer who 'owns' more than they really need for their regalia, handing feathers over? If a dancer has 4 wings and 2 tails' worth of feathers in his single swing bustle, why isn't he making a more reasonable sized bustle, and handing the extra feathers over to his community's spiritual men and women, so they can be handed out to those in need, or through ceremonies?

The men who take up the traditional northern dance are supposed to be the caretakers and protectors of our peoples. They should be the first in line to sacrifice for the rest of us... not the first in line to claim every feather for themselves, because it looks good in today's powwow circle.

The shortage of eagle feathers isn't a "problem" the Feds should have to be solving 'for' us via the repository. The repository isn't supposed to be there to pad out the latest style on someone's new regalia. It's supposed to be there to meet the needs of people with genuine spiritual requirements. A double-row swing bustle, a fully decked out staff, 4 or 5 scalplock feathers, full shoulder epaulettes, and a full eagle fan sure are pretty to look at, but they're NOT 'spiritual requirements'. They're a fashion.

Ideally, I'd like to see the repository become something only tribally recognised elders and spiritual leaders can even get feathers from. They can then distribute them as they see fit, to those who earn the right to them, or who pass through ceremonies where they are typically handed out (namings, for instance). They could be handed out to pipemakers and staff makers.

I honestly don't think anyone should be accumulating forty, fifty, sixty, or seventy feathers for the sake of 'nice' looking regalia, when there is obviously an issue with people being unable to obtain enough feathers for basic ceremonial purposes--naming, veteran recognitions, etc.

All the feathers needed, for everyone, are already right here. They're just concentrated in the hands of a rather small part of the dancing community.

GREED lies at the heart of the problem. Greed, and vanity. Everyone is lining up at the repository for just one more full tail for that fan they always wanted, or that next pair of wings to pad out an inner row on their swing bustle. And they're crying a river of tears because they aren't getting those feathers 'fast' enough to suit them. They're crying a river of tears because this time they got a dirty-edged white bald eagle tail, instead of that golden eagle black-tipped tail they always wanted.

I'm just tired of hearing it, especially from folks who, traditionally speaking, haven't even achieved the battle honors that give one a 'right' to wear black tips.

No one NEEDS a feather to pray, but if you've got one, it sure is nice. Any number of feathers above and beyond the one you pray with, is just gravy. We need to learn to be more thankful; I'd like to see more folks giving away feathers, as easily as they like to accumulate them.

But, eagle feathers are the new money. And the only time anyone really seems to care or complain, is when they can't get themselves a piece of it.

-grayback

eap7