Eagle feathers play a sacred role in powwows. Poachers are in high demand.

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) – American golden eagles face a growing threat from black market for your feathers They are used in powwows and other Native American ceremonies, according to wildlife officials, researchers and tribal members.

The government’s response was twofold: targeting gangs involved in the illegal trade in corpses. eagles combined with a long-standing program that legally distributes eagle feathers and parts to tribal members.

But that program has been delayed for several years, and officials said illegal killings appear to be becoming more common, with young golden eagles primarily targeted due to the importance placed on their white and black wing feathers. Golden eagles, which are federally protected but not endangered, already faced pressure – from poisoning, climate change and wind turbines that kill eagles during collisions.

An investigation centered around a Montana Indian reservation recently produced its first conviction: a Washington state man was charged along with others with killing thousands of birds, including at least 118 bald eagles and golden eagles, and selling their parts in the U.S. and abroad.

On Thursday he will be sentenced to up to five years in prison in a case that provides a rare glimpse into the black market.

Another investigation involving undercover agents revealed 150 golden eagles and bald eagles Over the past decade, 35 defendants have been charged and 31 convicted of wildlife violations, according to court records and federal officials.

Perry Lilly, a member of the Nakota Tribe in northern Montana, attends numerous powwows each year and says he has been urged to buy eagle feathers. He said the illegal shootings are “absolutely wrong” but sympathized with tribal members who don’t want to wait years for eagle parts.

Eagle feathers are woven into Native American culture. In addition to powwow regalia, they are given as gifts to high school graduates, used in wedding ceremonies, and buried with the dead.

Using local traditions

A government repository in Colorado, which provides dead eagles and parts free to tribal members, fills orders for individual feathers, such as for graduates. However, it is unable to meet the demand for eagle wings, tails and whole birds, even as powwows become increasingly complex and competitive.

This gives criminals the opportunity to exploit Native Americans in an attempt to preserve traditions.

“The amount of money you can win at a powwow has increased significantly over the last 10 years, which has somewhat increased demand,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service law enforcement chief Ed Grace. “If the price of feathers rises, people … become opportunistic and see that they can make a lot of money in a relatively short period of time by poaching eagles to support the feather trade.”

Eagle feathers were on full display at a recent powwow in Billings, where dozens of feathered Native Americans paraded into the university field house to begin the dance competition. Their feet moved to the rhythm of the drum, its rhythmic sounds periodically interrupted by shrill singing.

Women carried fans made of eagle feathers. The men wore headdresses made of eagle feathers that bounced back and forth as they danced.

The procession was led by a man with a staff topped with the head of an eagle. Behind him, among the tribal elders, stood Kenneth Deputy Sr., from the nearby Crow Indian Reservation.

Around his waist hung a decorative piece of eagle feathers, and he carried a short wooden stick carved into the head of a bald eagle, from which hung a single feather.

For the Deputy, feathers symbolize strength and provide protection.

“Feathers are very important,” he said. “I’m 72 years old, but as soon as I put this on, I’ll be ready to rock and roll. … All this power comes back to me, you know, so I’m ready to go and boogie.”

Comanche Nation member Bill Voelker describes the powwow differently: It’s more spectacle than spirituality, with feathers purchased online and eagle parts that can cost hundreds of dollars.

Not all powwows have cash prizes.

“Death Homicide” in Montana

In a pending poaching case in Montana, the defendant and his co-conspirators allegedly killed about 3,600 birds, including golden eagles and bald eagles, during what one of the defendants called “killer streak” Prosecutors say the killings began in 2009 and continued into 2021 on the Flathead Reservation, home to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.

Such investigations require a lot of resources and can take years, Grace said. That’s difficult to maintain for an agency that averages about three law enforcement officers per staff.

The case involving 150 eagle carcasses spanned several states and involved two pawn shops in South Dakota that bought and sold bird parts, including in Iowa, Montana, Nebraska and Wyoming.

“Almost all the information we get about the eagle trade comes from Native Americans, tribes, citizens,” Grace said. “And then we will look at that information and specifically target larger groups of human traffickers.”

According to a recent study, illegal shooting is the leading cause of death for eagles. government study. The Montana case in question arose in an area with one of the highest concentrations of eagles and other raptors in the western United States.

In online marketplaces, it is relatively easy to find posts from people illegally selling eagle feathers.

“The biggest crime in Indian country today is the powwow, but no one will say it out loud because everyone is involved,” said Voelker, who runs a tribally sanctioned feather repository and raptor sanctuary in southern Oklahoma.

Eagles on Ice

Voelkers is one of two non-federal feather repositories in the United States. Most of the dead eagles, parts and feathers received by tribal members come from wildlife services. National Eagle Repository.

Inside the service’s warehouse-sized building at a nature preserve near Denver, a wildlife technician recently pulled a cold eagle carcass from a box.

He spread his wings, waved his tail, examined the feathers, then methodically cut off the tail with a knife, and chopped off the wings and legs with a garden lopper. The pieces were packaged in individual plastic bags and mailed to tribal members throughout the United States.

The repository receives 3,500 dead bald and golden eagles each year from state wildlife agencies, bird rehabilitation facilities, zoos and other sources. Every year he receives several thousand requests from tribal members for feathers, whole eagles and parts of eagles.

Bird flu has slowed the processing of birds in storage; Now every eagle must be tested to prevent its spread.

The largest number of applications are for young golden eagles.

A dry erase board in the processing area showed how demand far exceeds supply, with 1,242 requests for whole immature golden eagles pending and only 17 in stock. More than 600 requests for wings; 40 in stock. Almost 450 tails have been requested; 17 in stock.

The repository is currently processing applications for immature golden eagles received in 2013. The waiting period for bald eagles or their parts is up to two years.

Lilly, a member of Nakota, said many of the feathers in his regalia were given to him or belonged to a dead eagle he found by a fence after it was apparently shot.

He also received a golden eagle from a government repository years after he applied for it.

Lilly recalled his excitement when the package arrived with the whole bird on dry ice.

“I had to have someone show me how to pluck it, remove the feathers, tail feathers, claws, head, things like that,” he said.

One of the bird’s legs is attached to a short staff that Lilly wields during powwow dances. The wing is made in the form of a fan.

“For a dancer, when you’re outside it gets really hot, so it’s like an air conditioner, this fan,” he said.

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.