Feds To Pay For Seizing Apache Indian's Eagle Feathers -Interior Department To Pay Man $48,818

koat ^

[chance33_98]

Feds To Pay For Seizing Apache Indian's Eagle Feathers

Interior Department To Pay Man $48,818

POSTED: 2:35 pm MDT April 12, 2004 UPDATED: 2:54 pm MDT April 12, 2004

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- U.S. Interior Department has been ordered to pay $48,818 to a Silver City man for his legal costs in a battle over eagle feathers. U.S. District Judge Christina Armijo ordered the agency to pay Joseluis Saenz, a Chiricahua Apache whose eagle feathers were seized by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1996.

He uses the feathers in religious ceremonies.

The department contended eagle feathers are protected under federal law, and Saenz could not possess them.

A judge in 2000 ordered that the feathers be returned to Saenz. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later upheld the judge's ruling, saying the seizure violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

[dirtboy]

U.S. District Judge Christina Armijo ordered the agency to pay Joseluis Saenz, a Chiricahua Apache whose eagle feathers were seized by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1996.

My wife is part Chiricahua Apache. I can tell you from experience that you don't want to p*** them off.

[NotQuiteCricket]

Wow - what a nightmare for a rat. Native American vs. Endangered Species.

[nevergore]

My wife is Irish descent.....they must be related to the "Apache" somehow.....

NeverGore :^)

[the OlLine Rebel]

LOL, which is another reason why this liberal nonsense shouldn't go on. They're going to run into conflict sooner or later!

Anyway, this sounds ridiculous to me. They're worried about FEATHERS?

[wingster]

I guess $48,817 wasn't enough and $48,819 was too much for his legal costs.

One too many expenses in the "document duplication" category.

[azhenfud]

It's a shame it took so long for him to get acquitted and finally get justice.

[azhenfud]

Must be a woman thing....;-)

[Atlas Sneezed]

Some are more equal than others.

[Phantom Lord]

Early in Clinton's first term a lady handed Hillary a "Dream Catcher" that contained eagle feathers as a gift. She was promptly arrested, charged, convicted of a felony, and jailed for possession of an endagered species feathers. Hillary, who was also in possession of said feathers, thus violating the same law this women was made a felon with but was never charged.

One of the few things Clinton did that I agreed with was his pardon of her. She got one of the last minute pardons.

[looscnnn]

The original protection was to keep people from hunting eagles for their feathers. However, if you find one on the ground, you should be able to legally posess it.

[WestTexasWend]

Interesting. Did the government seize communion wine during Prohibition? I'd have given him much more...

We should send some these gung-ho DoI enviro-nazis to clean up Iraq instead of paying them to chase feathers here.

It could be like "Changing Rooms" with worse decorating, a bigger budget and real fighting.

[Phantom Lord]

Did the government seize communion wine during Prohibition?

Actually, there was a specific exemption for just that.

[joesnuffy]

This is ridiculous these little self appointed gods of nature...have too much power...and need to have their wings clipped....

There are so many freaking Bald Eagles ..we need a hunting season on them again....like all predators the dang thigs become pests when their numbers are too great or concentrated.

TAX Payers ought to be able to harvest the buggers and sell off their parts to recoup some of their loss

imo

[the OlLine Rebel]

Correct. In this case, animals are always better than humans (i.e., the further you are from the American-white-Christian-heterosexual-male-human, the better). Eagle wins. Well, maybe not any more.

[the OlLine Rebel]

Much less having feathers AFTER the fact. How do they know how he even got these? He's being attacked just for having FEATHERS, FGS.