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March 15th, 2012
10:33 PM ET
Feds grant Native American tribe permit to kill bald eagles for religious purposesBy Eric Fiegel, CNN Washington (CNN) - It's the symbol of America, and for the first time, the U.S. government has granted a Native American tribe a permit to kill two bald eagles for religious purposes. The permit application was filed in 2008 by the Northern Arapaho Tribe in Wyoming and, after years of review, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued it on March 9.
"They did make a case for why the take of a bird from the wild was necessary," Matt Hogan, Denver regional director for the Fish and Wildlife Service, told CNN. Last year, the tribe filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the federal government for denying the application, saying it "unreasonably burdens the religious rights of tribal members," court documents stated. The case is pending. Hogan, who was in charge of granting the permit, says the lawsuit was not the reason the permit got approved when it did. He says it took time to make sure all the criteria were met and that the permit was in accordance with the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, which allows bald eagles to be used by Native Americans in religious ceremonies. The eagle "flies higher then any other creature. It sees many things. It's closer to the Creator," said Robert Holden, deputy director of the National Congress of American Indians. Holden said he was bothered by the comments he was hearing: that this permit would lead to a mass killing of bald eagles. "How stupid can that be?" he said. "It's a religion. It's what we do. We're more concerned about the eagle population than any culture in this Western Hemisphere. Why would we want to kill all the eagles?" Hogan said the permit's issuance will have little effect on the powerful raptor. Taking two eagles from the wild "will not in any way jeopardize the status of the eagle population, either in the state of Wyoming or nationwide," he said, "and the good news is bald eagles are doing quite well." That wasn't the case some 70 years ago, when the species was threatened with extinction, leading Congress to pass a law prohibiting the killing, selling or possession of the bird. In 2007, the bald eagle was removed from the threatened and endangered species list. Hogan said applications for a permit to kill or capture a bald eagle are rare. Native Americans often have to get bald eagle feathers for their ceremonies from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife national feather repository in Denver. Hogan said it can take years for the tribes to get the feathers this way, because demand often exceeds supply. Holden, who is part Choetaw/Shickasaw, sought to put some perspective on the situation: "If someone ordered a Bible or some religious artifact and they had to wait for a long time, how fair is that?" The permit is good until February 2013, and Hogan said he knows of no other applications being filed. As part of permit, the tribe has to notify the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service within 24 hours once the bald eagles are killed or captured. Hogan said he is still waiting for that word. soundoff (1,883 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 Next »
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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Maybe the eagles can apply for a permit to hunt the Native Americans for "religious" purposes. The jerks better be hunting with bow and arrow if this is all about "tradition" (and not those fancy ones with the sights you find at Cabela's).
And no I'm not "down" with any religion taking special liberties with the law. The deck has been stacked with way to many "belief and faith" cards lately.
Too true..!! Fine, go ahead and hunt your eagles for tradition / religious beliefs... but DEF gotta do it with old-fashioned bow and arrows (which i highly doubt they will)....
Ok I guess, giving some rights back to natives is fine by me. They know better than to kill them all so it's fine, they did it 100's of years ago before the 'white man' came.
I can't stand people like you. Youre guilty for the white man taking over the red man's land, yet you enjoy the nation and freedom the white man built. Hypocrite!
If I didnt live here I would live an Europe and enjoy just as much or more freedom there.
This is an outrage. This is the national bird(symbol of Freedom) and were going to let a bunch of Native Americans kill them? I say the Native Americans be forced to abide by the same rules as the rest of the US.
Why is that? They lived here first.
Who cares if they were here first. We took this land fair and square. Besides the Eagles were here first. Perhaps we hand out hunting permits to hunt Indians on the eagles behalf.
These Native Americans are abiding by the law.... they lawfully received a permit.
Before the species was considered endangered, anyone could hunt them, and they were almost brought to extinction because of their status as the national bird. Where Native Americans kill only a few and for religious purposes, European Americans killed Bald Eagles by the hundreds solely for the thrill and occasionally for a trophy.
So keep the sanctimonious BS to yourself. Thanks!
So if someone came and stole everything you owned would you just say well they took it fair and square it is theirs now? We killed them to take their land. How is that fair and square?
Really?? So, the religion that these 'native Americans' believe, allows them to murder one of the living creatures of the earth?
Correct me if I am wrong on this but didn't the "REAL" native Americans *find* feathers instead of kill the birds for their feathers?
I have a friend who is full blood "Native American" and he carry's eagle talons and feathers, however, he was adamant that they were not harvested after killing the eagle. Generally the eagle dies or is killed naturally, or by some other means and then the feathers and talons were harvested from the naturally deceased animal.
By the way, I am not* a PETA nut... I'm all for hunting, it's just that i call shenanigans on this one...
Its good to respect the culture of others. You will find peace in yourself and less hate. Because they are not living life "your way" it doesn't make their religion, culture and customs wrong.
Eda, use your head for more than just a hat rack... kill to celebrate a religion?
Uh... Bald Eagles are no where close to being an endangered species, so honestly so what? Symbol of America? Last time I checked, Native Americans were never very big into the whole United States thing. Ya' know, seing as how they lost nearly all their land and about 95% of their population when Europeans came and suddenly got it in their heads that the Americas somehow belonged to them.
Who gives a **** about what happened to the Native Americans' land? Its the US's land now and the should follow our rules.
you should move to Canada
Wrong again natives!
The record for North America is a mallard duck that collided with an airplane at 21,000 feet above Elko, Nevada in July, 1963.
So, go shoot a duck. Leave our eagles alone!
Exactly. Since Native Americans can't fly themselves, how would they know which birds fly the highest?
They're the natives of the land...not you. Immigrants may have built the country but bald eagles were here with the natives before you even knew they existed.
Bannister
Exactly. Since Native Americans can't fly themselves, how would they know which birds fly the highest?
Peyote.
I don't think it is necessary or right to kill these eagles in the name of a politically-correct, pagan religion.
It also sounds like some are more concerned about two bald egales being killed than the over 3,300 babies killed every day in the United States.Over 54,000,000 people [babies] killed since 1973. Some of these children [babies] would be 39 years old if they had lived.
Based on the consensus expresse so far the godless crowd's god of Science has it. Noticed I spelled god with lower case "g" than God.
They would probably all have grown up in foster homes and been in jail now.
Eagles serve a purpose in nature, unlike most humans who closer resemble locusts.
How do you know its pagan ?
@Hoo Myself - Like most christian nuts, they like to disparage any religious belief that doesn't match their own. Sad.
R U kidding me. Really. You wonder Y people are prejudice is this country.
We are a cicvilized nation now this action does not sound that way. What if every religion had some goofy killing reason for all diffrent reasons will we let that go on also.
Yea killing an eagle for religious purposes is uncivilized but playing Farmville, or drinking yourself stupid while jumping up and down at a club is civilized.
We are a cicvilized nation.........
We are ?
Could have fooled me.
Why is killing deer and other animals for sport ok but this is bad?
Killing for pure sport is just as irrational as killing for religious reasons. However I suspect there is more to the deer issue than pure sport. In the northeast the deer population grows unchecked. So sport is actually one way (and therefore one rational reason) for keeping the population down.
The argument then shifts to the validity of the reasons for allowing such actions. I have not heard one good rational reason for killing these two eagles.
Because its the national bird, you dope.
I do not care if it is the national bird or not. Killing any other animal is just as wrong as killing an eagle.
Hey rocket scientist, killing deer for sport is illegal..............are you an indian???
I'd like to kill my neighbors 7 cats. I'm sure I could come up with some religious reason to justify it.
Finally a comment that makes sense.....right on!!!
We are gonna get you first.
Ok – so Native Americans killing a bald eagle for religious purposes. no problem. Allowing Catholics their own religious freedom and not forcing them to offer up insurance which is a sin in their religion? NOPE! B. Hussein Obama hypocrisy strikes again! (BTW I fully support Native Americans right to follow millennia old traditions.
Why should the Catholic Church be exempt from paying for it?
Plus most Catholics want contraception. It is just the celibate ones that dont.
When your employer decides that their religion explicitly proscribes all medical care (and lets them off the hook for any coverage or disability insurance), maybe you'll see what a slippery slope it is to allow employers to force their religious views down the throats of their employees.
Right on brother!
Since when should your religion dictate what medical care I get? Would it be fair for your Christian Scientist employer to deny you ALL medicine?
Par for the course - any poster who uses "truth" in their screen name most probably has none of it.
(one exception a long while back on these forums, but I don't see anything from him anymore, unless he has changed his name)
The Morons are muliplying.
The first stipulation should be that the bird be trapped the 'old fashion' way.
No modern weapons can be used.
Much as we support Indigenous Rights against the many wrongs of criminal invaders to the indigenous space of others, all these many excuses and specious reasons for slaughtering the animals should be erased from the ignorant and corrupted mind.
Shooting that animals for food, when there is an abundance of food; or for sport or FOR THEIR FEATHERS? These are acts of ignorance of the worse kinds.
I bet that the Ancestors of Native Peoples don't mind doing without the symbolism of feathers of slaughtered eagle, when other intelligent alternatives can work just as well for the SYMBOLISM?
America is full of fat, dumb rednecks. Let the people get back to nature, we all need to take example of these native people. All the comments I read here is fat fat diabetes fat dumb...
Trey is obviously a product of our socialist, liberal, education model. GET UR DONE!!!!!!
My religion requires me to drink free beer. I DEMAND free beer!
I like this guy!!!!!
I would like to join your religion..Is there an application?
The best comment yet!!! GET UR DONE brother!!!!
A toast to the beer gods.
Way to mangle the tribe names, CNN. Very respectful. "Choetaw" and Shickasaw". Tools.
He equated the killing of the eagles to the acquisition of a book:
"If someone ordered a Bible or some religious artifact and they had to wait for a long time, how fair is that?"
OMfG this is all I need. I'm convinced now that they had a great reasons to do this!
Before I even saw your comment I was muttering those exact words to myself. The logic is PATHETIC here.
Only deeply backwards people kill for religious purposes...
They kill a bird, Christians KILL people
Magistic – people of ALL religious believes kill people, not just Christians.
So forward thinking people kill for the heck of it?? Nice.....to quote Lynard Skynard....."gimme back my bullets...."
Your upset about killing animals in the name of religious ceremony, but how many millions of people died in the name of religion at the hands of christians? How many innocent people still are being killed in the name of religion? Do YOU know the history of your religious past? Are you really proud of that? Native Americans have a lot better since of right and wrong and balance in the universe than most of us. We don't all believe the same and that is called freedom of religion and that's ok. Killing another human because they do not believe as you do...........
More dead needlessly dead animals at the hands of ancient hokum. And I hope none of you other critics pray to Jesus or Allah, because you're no better; I just can picture some Christian tool telling some indian that his or her religion is primitive nonsense....LMAO!!!!!
I pray to the school of walk softly, be kind, and nuke the fool who disagrees.
(To the negative comments) YOU MAD????? LOL I enjoy reading these comments, and how one article can cause people to get fired up!!!!! KEEP THEM COMING!!!!!
So, they have 24 hours to "report" that they killed Americas symbol of freedom. What happens if they "forget" to report it? After shooting 15-20 Bald Eagles,maybe someone will finally figure it out.... Why can't they be given Bald Eagles that are found dead,hit by vehicles (It happens),or died of other causes?? Or is it that THEY have to kill it for their "religious ceremony" I have spent 5 days a year for the last 3 years counting Bald Eagles for the local DNR, I can't agree with killing this animal for any reason!! I would be interested to know how many other tribes will now ask for the same permission? Good luck keeping track of how many have REALLY been killed for this "purpose".
What happens when you run out of toes and fingers to count with........
Well obviously if you kill the symbol of freedom, then freedom itself dies. The real question is. What if you were not so f ing stupid.
they were here before you or America....your ancestors murdered them and took their land...if they feel like eating Kentucky Fried Eagle then so be it