A bald eagle is processed at the National Eagle Repository in Colorado. Photo by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via Wikipedia
A Wyoming tribe is asking the Obama administration to drop an appeal in a religious rights case affecting the use of bald eagles for ceremonies. The Northern Arapaho Tribe received a permit to kill two bald eagles but only outside of the boundaries of the Wind River Reservation. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service imposed the condition due to concerns raised by the Eastern Shoshone Tribe, which shares the reservation. Judge Alan B. Johnson, however, determined that the restriction wasn't justified. In a March 12 decision, he said the Northern Arapaho Tribe's religious rights were being violated. "The Wind River Reservation is shared by the Northern Arapaho Tribe and the Eastern Shoshone Tribe, but it also contains lands owned solely by the Northern Arapaho Tribe," the ruling stated. "Significantly, the Northern Arapaho Tribe owns over 4,000 acres near the Arapaho Ranch within the Wind River Reservation. Not allowing the Northern Arapaho Tribe to participate in the sincere religious practice on their land constitutes a burden on their free exercise of religion." The Department of Justice has asked the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals to hear the case and the opening brief is due before the end of September, the Associated Press reported. The Northern Arapaho Tribe hopes to stop the process in order for its members to kill bald eagles for use in Sun Dance ceremonies. Turtle Talk has posted documents from the district court case, Northern Arapaho Tribe v. Ashe. Get the Story:
Tribe appeals ruling that limits eagle killings (AP 8/25)
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