Religion & American Law

           The article is about a recent federal government decision allowing a Wyoming Native American tribe, Northern Arapaho, to kill two bald eagles for a religious ceremony. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services are allowing the tribe to either kill or capture and release two bald eagles. The controversy is not the whether the bald eagles are going to be used for a religious purpose but whether they can perform their ceremonies without killing the bald eagles. A spokesman for conservation and animal rights group ask whether the tribe can use eagle feathers. The only problem is getting the feathers from a federal repository is a lengthy process.

            In 2005 a young tribal member, who was participating in the Sun Dance, was arrested after he shot a bald eagle; he eventually plead guilty and was fined. Harvey Spoonhunter, a tribal elder, gave reasons for using the bald eagle, “It has been since the beginning of time with us… we get to utilize the eagle, which we consider a messenger to the Creator.” A member of the Zuni Tribe in New Mexico said using a bird in a ceremony is common because it bring awe to many people. He also believes that because of their ceremonies their language and the sense of community have survived.  

            The President of The Humane Society of the United States, Wayne Pacelle, said he did not want to see the bald eagles killed. He also said he understood the importance of the bald eagles for Native American culture and their ceremonies. Pacelle hopes the Native American tribe can use feathers and carcasses without resorting in direct killings of the bald eagles. Since 2007, the bald eagles were taken off of the endangered species list. Another spokesman is insisting that not every tribe wants to kill bald eagles in their ceremonies it is exclusive to only a few tribes. Which means that even though a tribe has been permitted to kill two bald eagles does not every tribe will begin to kill bald eagles. 

            The major issue with this is the Native Americans have to ask permission before part taking in a ceremony. Before the tribe can participate in ceremony they have to ask permission to use the feathers bald eagles. In the same article by CNN, Matt Hogan, a regional director for the Fish and Wildlife Services said, “Native Americans often have to get bald eagle feathers for their ceremonies from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife national feather repository in Denver… it can take years for the tribes to get the feathers this way.” That for me is where the problem comes in, should the Native Americans have wait for years in order to perform a ceremony? Is that not conflicting on their religious freedom? Pacelle hopes that Native Americans can use the feathers rather than killing the bald eagle, but it is not fair to make them wait years before giving them feathers.  This seemed reasonable when the bald eagle was still on the endangered specie list, but now that it is off should feathers not be readily available?

            This article takes me back to the book, We Have a Religion: The 1920s Pueblo Indian Dance Controversy, by Tisa Wenger. In the book Wenger talks about the federal government trying to ban some of the practices of the Pueblo Indians during the 1920s. This article shows that the government is trying to understand the Native Americans and their practices, but is still interfering with Native American practices. It will take time for the government to find a balance in granting the Native Americans to use bald eagles in their ceremonies, but it is not fair for the Native Americans to suffer in the mean time.