Constitutionality of Eagle Protections To Be Argued In Federal Court

In U.S. federal district court in Jackson, Wyoming on Monday, oral arguments are scheduled in a case involving the constitutionality of federal restrictions on Native Americans taking bald eagles for religious purposes. The Jackson Hole Star Tribune reports that the Northern Arapaho tribe and defendant Winslow Friday (charged with shooting a bald eagle without Interior Department permission) claim that federal law places an undue restriction on their free exercise of religion. They argue that the population of eagles has increased to the point that now some could appropriately be taken for religious purposes. They say that the current system that forces tribes to rely on the National Eagle Repository for salvaged eagles imposes a lengthy delay and often furnishes eagles that are "unusable" for traditional ceremonies. Prosecutors say that since Friday never applied for a permit to hunt eagles, he cannot now assert that hunting restrictions infringe his rights.