Mustangs and Eagles

[Bossroo]

Yesterday, we drove through a large and isolated Indian Reservation in the Pacific North West. We saw 3 herds of mustangs, one herd had 20+ another about a dozen and another 7 horses. We stoped for lunch at their casino, then visited their gift shop where we saw many eagle feathers for sale. Later we stoped at the next town outside the reservation to have dinner and spend the night. At a small restaurant we met a Sheriff deputy and had quite a chat for a couple of hours. He and another deputy where on a horscarcass stakeout on the Reservatiion where there was a shot and killed mustang. He said that a tribe member first shoots a mustang, then uses it as bait for an eagle to come and scavange the carcass, then shoot it for it's feathers to sell at their gift shop. It seems that since the Indians are an independent nation, they can run a gambling casino, gill net Salmon and Trout, shoot game out of season, and shoot mustangs and protected species and the rest of us can't.

Here, I thaught that the red man was noble and communed with nature and protected it . Silly me !

 

[Hoss1975]

That sounds like a load of crap to me,i find it real hard to believe any Native American would shoot an eagle.They can't sell the feathers either,the feathers you saw were probably imitation feathers.Natives have to go through a big long drawn out application process to apply for an eagle feather,once they get it it's one of there most closely guarded possessions.

 

[Duckchick2011]

You sure those "eagle feather's" aren't just vulture feathers? I thought eagles were more fresh caught game creatures than scavengers, plus, eagles are very heavily protected...I really think that deputy was just messing with you....

 

[Hoss1975]

Quote:
Vulture feathers are illegal too,there are very realistic imitation eagle feathers that some make,but you can always tell the fake ones.The eagles around here will gladly scavenge on roadkill,they are partial to the beavers that quite often get hit on river road.

 

[equine623]

I belong to a raptor rehab group and we just had a series of emails going on about eagle feathers. For most tribes, in ceremonial uses, they only want feathers that have been molted from a live eagle. Feathers from a dead bird are considered bad luck.

 

[mom'sfolly]

I suspect the deputy was a bigot, and you got to hear his opinions. Natives are allowed to harvest eagles only under very specific circumstances, and they are not allowed to sell the feathers. You probably got sold some lovely imitation feathers. The US government considers mustangs a introduced species, and harvests hundreds every year. A local sheriff's deputy would have no jurisdiction on reservation land. I think you have been had.

http://www.fws.gov/faq/featherfaq.html

http://www.eaglefeathertrading.com/...creen=CTGY&Store_Code=EFTP&Category_Code=5000

http://lakeconews.com/content/view/15422/919/

http://www.animallaw.info/administrative/adus59fr22953.htm

 

[dewey]

There's illegal trade in just about everything, and the illegal capture, killing, or selling of eagles dead or alive is really not all that uncommon, just a fact held close to the chest. http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/July/10-enrd-771.html Feathers and other parts off dead eagles are valuable.

http://www.fws.gov/faq/featherfaq.html When a ceremony is required right away, waiting 3 years for feathers is just not gonna happen. Baiting for them isn't unusual.

Can't say one way or the other if the feathers viewed at the shop were real. Wouldn't be surprised one way or the other.

 

[michickenwrangler]

Quote:
I thought it was illegal to own any part of a raptor bird unless you have a permit. There was a man in Michigan arrested for having a Great Horned Owl claw dangling from the rearview of his truck.

 

[Duckchick2011]

Quote:
I thought it was illegal to own any part of a raptor bird unless you have a permit. There was a man in Michigan arrested for having a Great Horned Owl claw dangling from the rearview of his truck.

It is...very illegal...I guess I overlooked the fact that Vultures are considered raptors as well...Sorry.

 

[WIChookchick]

I was up in Alaska while in the Navy, there were TONS of Bald Eagles all over, I found a feather shed while they were molting I wasn't even allowed to pick it up. I took a picture of it instead.
Native Americans are not "Red Men" that is racist and you should be ashamed to say or repeat such things.
Most of the casino's are run by them, but are owned by folks in other countries, OR by "white men", look it up. Most casino's on Indian Res's are owned by folks in China, the Middle East or by
big conglomerates. My father was/is in the gambling industry, I grew up in Nevada. I know.
People think that Native Americans have it SOOO easy...
Many have no indoor plumbing, no running water, no electricity, most don't have an education, jobs...
Here are a few photos from things I found online
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...bih=707&tbm=isch&um=1&itbs=1&biw=1440&bih=707
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...d=1t:429,r:7,s:0&tx=81&ty=81&biw=1440&bih=707
http://www.earthend-newbeginning.co...-american-indians-well-water-pump-pumping.jpg
http://newspaperrock.bluecorncomics.com/2009/11/stimulating-tribes-waste-of-money.htm