TODAY'S NEWS
Tuesday, February 20, 2007; Page C12
Death of a Bald Eagle Leads to a Big Dispute
· Winslow Friday, a 22-year-old Northern Arapaho living in Wyoming, needed a bald eagle -- its feathers and a wing, to be exact-- for a sacred Sun Dance. So he went out and shot one of the rare birds. He believes it was his solemn religious duty.
It also was against the law.
There are 7,700 nesting pairs of bald eagles in the Lower 48 states, and federal law bars anyone from even touching one of their feathers without the government's okay.
Friday was arrested and faces up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000 for the March 2005 shooting. "I know I broke the law and all," he told the Chicago Tribune newspaper, "but I had no choice."
Federal officials say such an attitude could endanger the population of bald eagles, this country's national symbol.
To try to meet the religious needs of Native Americans, the government collects carcasses of eagles that die naturally, in accidents or by hunting or poisoning. Tribes can apply for these birds for use in ceremonies, but it can take more than three years to get one. That doesn't help when some Native American rituals require a freshly killed eagle.
The government says Friday could have applied for a special permit to kill a bald eagle. But most Native Americans are unaware that a permit system exists, because the government hasn't publicized it, according to witnesses at Friday's trial.
A federal judge dismissed the charge against him, saying the government showed "callous indifference" to Native American religious practices. Government lawyers said they will appeal the case. The dispute could end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.
The killing of eagles for religious ceremonies is a sensitive topic for both sides. Some Native Americans agree with the government that restrictions are needed to preserve the majestic birds, which numbered more than 250,000 in North America 500 years ago, according to biologists.
