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Sacred
Feathers
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Sacred
Feathers
In
the old traditional ways... Eagles to all tribes are
sacred messengers. It's the animal that can fly the
highest to the Creator. Tsalagi people would normally
carry only one eagle feather according to the position
in the tribe. A spiritual leader such as a
Medicine/Holy Man, a Clan Mother, or a Chief would
carry a white bald eagle tail feather to represent
their spiritual purity and power. The rest of the
tribe carried wing feathers or plumes. Most Tsalagi
people wore turkey, water fowl, and more common bird
feathers because they were also sacred, but common.
Turkeys were sacred to the Tsalagi because it was one
of their main sources of food.
Modern
Times... Now, it's the 21st century, and there are
certain ideas that is more personal opinion than
tradition. In today's time you have to be warned of
the politics of possessing eagle feathers as well. The
Indian civil rights act states that a Native American
cannot be denied the right to possess sacred items for
religious and ceremonial purposes... Be warned with
this statement... Technically all Native Americans
have the right to possess eagle and hawk feathers, but
these birds of prey are protected on the Migratory
Bird Act and some are on the Endangered Species
Protection Act. By law you cannot have any eagle
feathers unless you request eagle feathers from the
Federal Repository in Colorado. The Department of
Interior and The B.I.A controls who can legally have
eagle feathers. Even if you are from a Federally
Recognized Tribe doesn't mean that you have the right
to just go and pick up an eagle feather from the
ground. You still can get fined and arrested even if
you are federally recognized. Unless you have a
certificate for every feather or bird of prey body
part law officials have no proof the animal wasn't
poached. So, that's politics with sacred items.
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