Bald Eagle Case Transferred To Tribal Court

There has been a new development in the long-running federal prosecution of Winslow Friday, a member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe, charged with killing a bald eagle so he could use it in his tribe's Sun Dance. The case has already been up to the 10th Circuit once on an unsuccessful challenge to the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. (See prior posting.) A Wyoming federal district court judge has now agreed to let the matter be handled by a tribal court. AP reports today that the Wyoming federal district court that had scheduled a trial to begin Monday in the case instead has issued an order vacating the trial and specifying that the matter will be transferred to a tribal court. The judge however left open the possibility that he could still order a trial next month if the tribal court does not act.