Indian tribe gains right to kill bald eagles in ritual
UNITED STATES: A federal government decision to allow a Wyoming tribe to kill two bald eagles for a religious ceremony is a victory for American Indian sovereignty as well as for long-suppressed religious freedoms, the tribe says.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service granted a permit to the Northern Arapaho tribe allowing it either to kill or capture and release two bald eagles this year.
While no-one questions the religious sincerity of Northern Arapaho tribal members, spokesmen for some conservation and animal rights groups question why the tribe can’t meet its religious needs without killing wild eagles.
They say the tribe could raise captive birds or accept eagle feathers or carcasses already available from a federal repository that collects birds killed by power lines or other in other ways.
The Northern Arapaho share the Wind River Indian Reservation in central Wyoming with the Eastern Shoshone tribe. The Northern Arapaho decline to say specifically what they will do with the eagles the federal permit allows them to kill.
‘‘It has been since the beginning of time with us and we respectfully utilise the eagle in our ceremonies,’’ said Harvey Spoonhunter, a tribal elder and former chairman of the Northern Arapaho Business Council.
‘‘We get to utilise the eagle, which we consider a messenger to the creator.’’
Bald eagles were removed from the federal list of threatened species in 2007 but remain protected under the federal Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.
Several Indian tribes have been allowed permits to kill golden eagles for religious purposes.
The bald eagle, which is brown with a white head and tail, has been the national bird and a symbol of the US since the 18th century. The bald eagle is featured on most official US Government seals, including the president’s.