Post by blackcrowheart on Oct 31, 2006 10:27:18 GMT -5
Man battles to have confiscated feathers returned
October 25,2006
Andres R. Martinez
Monitor Staff Writer
See a multimedia piece featuring images and audio at www.themonitor.com/feathers.
McALLEN — The turkey feathers in Robert Soto’s porcupine brocade are nothing more than placeholders for the two golden eagle feathers they replaced.
Soto’s eagle feathers were confiscated by a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agent at a pow-wow on March 11 because he did not have a permit from the government to have them.
The confiscation at the pow-wow in Palmview has touched off a debate among Native American communities across the country about how they are allowed to worship.
Many, says Soto, were like him, unaware they needed permits to use feathers protected under federal laws protecting migratory birds. The only groups of people allowed to use feathers are enrolled members of a federally recognized tribe.
Soto, who is a pastor at McAllen Grace Brethren Church, is not in one of the more than 500 tribes.
"(The eagle) is a sacred bird to our people," says Soto, a Lipan Apache. "They are a symbol of strength, power and freedom."
His case is still under investigation, according to Alejandro Rodriguez, the special agent who seized the feathers.
There are more than 4.2 million people in the United States who, like Soto, claim to be Native American but are not recognized by the federal government. And because they are not recognized, they are not afforded the same protections to use feathers for spiritual and ceremonial purposes.
Many tribes use feathers in dances, prayer ceremonies and rites-of-passage ceremonies.
"They are ways to convey, to symbolize different aspects of spirituality," said Cinda Hughes, legislative associate for the National Congress of American Indians.
Hughes, a Kiowa Indian, said that each tribe uses different objects, just like a Catholic prays with a rosary.
Soto said he sent an account of his case to three friends and since then he has been bombarded by more than 3,000 e-mails from people who support him. They, like him, were not aware that they were not protected to use feathers, he said.
Soto admitted he does not have a permit and is not a member of a recognized tribe.
There are a series of statutes and laws that govern the use of feathers in ceremonies. One federal statute allows an enrolled member of a federally recognized tribe to hold feathers so long as the member provides documentation proving the feathers were legally obtained. The member also needs documentation proving membership in one of the federally recognized tribes.
"If you can produce something that demonstrates you are a member of a specific tribe, that should be enough to alleviate whatever fears a federal agency has," Hughes said.
Ideally, that would come in the form of a document from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
The documents proving feathers are not illicitly obtained are as called for under the Migratory Bird Act.
The act, passed in the earlier part of the 20th century, protects all migratory birds and their habitats. In other words, you cannot do what you want with a dead bird. This was at odds with many Native American tribes often take a bird’s feathers when it dies and store them to use in later spiritual ceremonies.
So, in 1978, the American Indian Religious Freedom Act recognized tribes around the country could begin legally using feathers.
Soto and his lawyers have filed a formal appeal with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for it to return his feathers. The service has not responded to the appeal yet.
Soto claims the agent did not identify himself when he entered the pow-wow. By law he should have identified himself and asked to be allowed to enter. The agent claimed that the pow-wow had been advertised and therefore was no longer a spiritual event where he needed to ask permission to enter, Soto said.
Soto’s lawyer, Marisa Salazar, hopes to use a recent federal court decision in New Mexico to bolster her client’s case.
Salazar believes Soto is in a better position before the court than Jose Luis Saenz, a man in New Mexico whose feathers were confiscated. The feathers taken from Saenz were obtained through a search warrant after the agent had probable cause. The agent who took Soto’s feather didn’t have either a search warrant or probable cause, she said.
At the end of the day, it is not about the feathers, Soto says.
"He just wants to educate people" about Native American rights, said his attorney.
——
Andres R. Martinez covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4434.
See a multimedia piece featuring images and audio at www.themonitor.com/feathers.
October 25,2006
Andres R. Martinez
Monitor Staff Writer
See a multimedia piece featuring images and audio at www.themonitor.com/feathers.
McALLEN — The turkey feathers in Robert Soto’s porcupine brocade are nothing more than placeholders for the two golden eagle feathers they replaced.
Soto’s eagle feathers were confiscated by a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agent at a pow-wow on March 11 because he did not have a permit from the government to have them.
The confiscation at the pow-wow in Palmview has touched off a debate among Native American communities across the country about how they are allowed to worship.
Many, says Soto, were like him, unaware they needed permits to use feathers protected under federal laws protecting migratory birds. The only groups of people allowed to use feathers are enrolled members of a federally recognized tribe.
Soto, who is a pastor at McAllen Grace Brethren Church, is not in one of the more than 500 tribes.
"(The eagle) is a sacred bird to our people," says Soto, a Lipan Apache. "They are a symbol of strength, power and freedom."
His case is still under investigation, according to Alejandro Rodriguez, the special agent who seized the feathers.
There are more than 4.2 million people in the United States who, like Soto, claim to be Native American but are not recognized by the federal government. And because they are not recognized, they are not afforded the same protections to use feathers for spiritual and ceremonial purposes.
Many tribes use feathers in dances, prayer ceremonies and rites-of-passage ceremonies.
"They are ways to convey, to symbolize different aspects of spirituality," said Cinda Hughes, legislative associate for the National Congress of American Indians.
Hughes, a Kiowa Indian, said that each tribe uses different objects, just like a Catholic prays with a rosary.
Soto said he sent an account of his case to three friends and since then he has been bombarded by more than 3,000 e-mails from people who support him. They, like him, were not aware that they were not protected to use feathers, he said.
Soto admitted he does not have a permit and is not a member of a recognized tribe.
There are a series of statutes and laws that govern the use of feathers in ceremonies. One federal statute allows an enrolled member of a federally recognized tribe to hold feathers so long as the member provides documentation proving the feathers were legally obtained. The member also needs documentation proving membership in one of the federally recognized tribes.
"If you can produce something that demonstrates you are a member of a specific tribe, that should be enough to alleviate whatever fears a federal agency has," Hughes said.
Ideally, that would come in the form of a document from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
The documents proving feathers are not illicitly obtained are as called for under the Migratory Bird Act.
The act, passed in the earlier part of the 20th century, protects all migratory birds and their habitats. In other words, you cannot do what you want with a dead bird. This was at odds with many Native American tribes often take a bird’s feathers when it dies and store them to use in later spiritual ceremonies.
So, in 1978, the American Indian Religious Freedom Act recognized tribes around the country could begin legally using feathers.
Soto and his lawyers have filed a formal appeal with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for it to return his feathers. The service has not responded to the appeal yet.
Soto claims the agent did not identify himself when he entered the pow-wow. By law he should have identified himself and asked to be allowed to enter. The agent claimed that the pow-wow had been advertised and therefore was no longer a spiritual event where he needed to ask permission to enter, Soto said.
Soto’s lawyer, Marisa Salazar, hopes to use a recent federal court decision in New Mexico to bolster her client’s case.
Salazar believes Soto is in a better position before the court than Jose Luis Saenz, a man in New Mexico whose feathers were confiscated. The feathers taken from Saenz were obtained through a search warrant after the agent had probable cause. The agent who took Soto’s feather didn’t have either a search warrant or probable cause, she said.
At the end of the day, it is not about the feathers, Soto says.
"He just wants to educate people" about Native American rights, said his attorney.
——
Andres R. Martinez covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4434.
See a multimedia piece featuring images and audio at www.themonitor.com/feathers.
