Sun, Nov 22 2009
|
Eagle feather laws still in place By EDDIE GLENNTahlequah Daily Press According to the anonymous source, about 70 percent of the eagle feathers a person will see at a powwow are from the golden eagle, with the other 30 percent being bald eagle feathers.
“A lot of Indians look down on the bald eagle because they say it eats carrion. A golden eagle will eat carrion, too, if it gets real hungry,” he said. “But the bald eagle is not really revered as much as the golden eagle.” A lot of the eagle feathers on the illegal market, he said, aren’t actually taken from dead eagles. They’re picked up off the ground in areas like northwest Arkansas, where commercial chicken houses are common. A couple of eagles will get into a tussle over which one gets to feast on an unfortunate chicken, and leave a few of their own feathers on the ground. Those feathers are then retrieved by people who, at that point – whether they know it or not – are violating federal law. Also, Anquoe added, eagle feathers aren’t the only highly regarded plumage. The feathers of other birds protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act – like hawks and “anhingas,” which are water birds – are often traded illegally, too. “I’ve had Navajos approach me and offer to trade me a whole bald eagle for 50 scissortail feathers,” he said. “They use them to make fans they use in the Native American Church.” According to Anquoe, some Indians have had eagle feathers taken away from them by federal agents who attended powwows just for that purpose: to bust illegal feather owners. “There’s a lot of misunderstanding about the eagle feather laws,” Anquoe said. “A lot of people think you just have to have a CDIB card to have them, but you have to go through the whole application process.” Contact Eddie Glenn at eglenn@tahlequahdailypress.com. 
More from the Homepage section
|
Print this story
Post to del.icio.us
 |
 |
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
 |
|
|
|
|
© 2007, Tahlequah Daily Press
106 W. Second Street; Tahlequah, OK 74464 (918) 456-8833 
|
Popular Business directory links - Tahlequah Apartments | Tahlequah Attorneys | Tahlequah Auto Dealers | Tahlequah Auto Parts | Tahlequah Auto Repair | Tahlequah Beauty Salons | Tahlequah Car Rental | Tahlequah Dentists | Tahlequah Doctors | Tahlequah Flowers | Tahlequah Hotels | Tahlequah Insurance | Tahlequah Loans | Tahlequah Mortgages | Tahlequah Movers | Tahlequah Pizza | Tahlequah Realtors | Tahlequah Restaurants | Tahlequah Storage | Tahlequah Tax Preparation | Tahlequah Travel | Tahlequah Featured | More...
|
|
Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. • CNHI Classified Advertising Network • CNHI News Service |
