In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, the eagle feather law provides many exceptions to federal wildlife laws regarding eagles and other migratory birds to enable Native Americans to continue their traditional, spiritual and cultural practices. Under the current language of the eagle feather law, individuals of certifiable Native American ancestry enrolled in a

federally recognized This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United ...

tribe are legally authorized to obtain eagle feathers. A violation of the Act can result in a fine of $100,000 ($200,000 for organizations), imprisonment for one year, or both, for a first offense. Penalties increase substantially for additional offenses, and a second violation of this Act is a felony.

Criteria of ownership

The eagle feather law has given rise to continuing debate about the criteria for ownership and possession of eagles and eagle parts. Debates have centered on the differences between enrollment in a federally recognized Native American tribe, vs a

racial A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

ethnic An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established fo ...

or self-identified concept of Indigeneity. Some arguments have centered on non-Natives being opposed to Natives having access to anything that other Americans cannot have. Defenders of the law have argued it is the only legal protection of Native American

spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape ...

and that because eagle supplies are limited, increasing the number of people who can have eagle parts may make feathers more scarce as well as endanger the lives of too many migratory birds (including threatened or endangered species). Arguments in favor of amending the law (notably by supporters of Religious Freedom with Raptors, an organization dedicated to changing the eagle feather law) have been made on the grounds that it imposes "racial preferences" for Native Americans and that the requirement of tribal enrollment to possess eagles undermines tribal sovereignty rights to fully welcome and include non-Natives in tribal customs involving eagle feathers. It is also argued that eagle permit certification restrictions based on enrollment status impede people with Indian ancestry but who may be unable to prove their ancestry, from exploring their heritage. Religious Freedom with Raptors also advocate removing enrollment requirements from 50 CFR 22, stating that enrollment requirements are a racial bias, and that such action would enable all U.S. citizens to apply for eagles or parts from the

National Eagle Repository The National Eagle Repository is operated and managed under the Office of Law Enforcement of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service located at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge outside of Denver, Colorado. It serves as a c ...

(overseen by the

United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...

), it would extend the ability of government-regulated programs and agencies to protect raptors by decreasing the profitability of raptor poaching and trafficking.

References

External links

Looking Horse, Arvol. 2003. "Looking Horse Proclamation on the Protection of Ceremonies." ''Indian Country Today'', April 25.
* ttps://www.fws.gov/midwest/eagle/History/protections.html Federal Laws that Protect Bald and Golden Eagles {{DEFAULTSORT:Eagle Feather Law Nature conservation in the United States Endangered animals Native American law Native American religion Church and state law in the United States Wildlife law Feathers

Criteria of ownership

See also

References

External links