Should non-Native Americans be allowed to possess eagle feathers?
One of the major concerns of non-Native Americans possessing eagle feathers is based on fear that the culture, spirituality, and feathers will be abused. These fears are based on extensive modern and historical experiences of colonialism, racism, separatism, and attempted genocide of indigenous people. Understandably, these fears lead many people to become reserved about welcoming others into indigenous practices or allowing others to possess eagle feathers. We share in these concerns and believe that our ways of life should not be abused–but we join with those who feel that we should not be limited by those fears. We can create a better future. While RFRs work is directed in part at removing the racial requirements from 50 CFR 22 and other federal wildlife laws, we support retaining an eagle permit application to help protect eagles and indigenous customs, and endorse replacing the race requirement (i.e. an applicant’s verified tribal enrollment) with the endorsement of a tribal memb
