The YakimaHerald.com
Thursday, Nov 16, 2006
A federal judge in Wyoming has dismissed criminal charges against a Northern Arapaho man who shot a bald eagle last year for use in one of his tribe's ceremonial dances.
At the same time, the judge made it clear that the federal government needs to clean up its act when it comes to accommodating the religious beliefs of American Indians, for whom the eagle holds special spiritual meaning.
In his ruling, U.S. District Judge William F. Downes wrote: "Although the government professes respect and accommodation of the religious practices of Native Americans, 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."
The judge ruled in favor of Winslow Friday, 22, of Ethete, Wyo., on the Wind River Indian Reservation, who was charged with killing a bald eagle with a rifle in March 2005. Lawyers for Friday and his tribe argued that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service generally refuses to grant permits allowing tribal members -- a process that would include members of the Yakama Nation -- to kill eagles, even though federal regulations say such permits should be available.
The federal government does, in fact, have a repository of dead eagles, from which it parcels out the birds. But that can be a long time happening.
One tribal attorney said that more than 5,000 Indians are on a waiting list to get an eagle from a federal repository of eagle carcasses, and that the waiting period is about 31/2 years.
We don't condone Winslow Friday's unsanctioned shooting. But in the wake of the legal repercussions it caused, two things are apparent:
The federal government needs to end the bureaucratic snarl at the repository. Three-and-a-half years is an ridiculously long time to wait for feathers from dead birds.
The hunting permitting system needs to be updated to address today's realities. The majestic birds are protected, but their population has rebounded and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is moving forward with the process of removing the bald eagle in the lower 48 states from the list of threatened and endangered species.
Once that happens, it would seem reasonable that a limited number of hunting permits could be granted to satisfy tribal ceremonial needs -- assuming cleanup of the repository process doesn't solve it first.
In this state, the Makah tribe's right to hunt whales was reinstated in 1994 when the gray whale was taken off the Endangered Species List. If we can do it for whales, why not eagles?
Judge Downes got it right. Now the appropriate federal officials need to heed his common-sense advice and show appropriate respect for American Indian customs and religious beliefs that predate the federal government itself.
* Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are Michael Shepard, Sarah Jenkins and Bill Lee.