8 FEBRUARY 1, 2002
Smoke Signals
Nez Perce Tribe Begins Annual Wolf Collaring
BOISE, ID. (AP) The Nez
Perce Tribe is again capturing and
placing radio collars on gray wolves
as part of an ongoing effort to moni
tor the animals.
"The Tribe is committed to success
ful wolf recovery in Idaho," said
Samuel Penney, Chairman of the
Nez Perce Tribal Executive Commit
tee. "As this year's wolf monitoring
effort begins, the Tribe will continue
working with local landowners and
leaders to ensure accountability
through education and outreach
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programs.
The capturing
and collaring of
the wolves is a
collaborative ef
fort of the Idaho
Wolf Project
that includes
the Tribe, U.S.
Fish and Wild
life Service and the U.S. Department
of Agriculture Wildlife Services.
Wolves are being captured from the
Wildhorse and Whitehawk packs
southeast of Challis. The packs were
chosen as a top
priority be
cause they
were involved
in confirmed
livestock dep
redations last
summer.
Each collar
emits its own
unique frequency that allows biolo
gists to identify individual wolves.
"Having radio collars on these
packs allows us to use several man
agement tools that help keep wolves
out of livestock and help us reach our
recovery goals," said Carter
Niemeyer, Wolf Recovery Coordina
tor for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser
vice. The Service is restoring endan
gered gray wolves to the northern
Rocky Mountains in Idaho, Mon
tana and Wyoming. The recovery
goal is to maintain 30 breeding
pairs of wolves for three years across
the three-state region.
Officials said they should reach
their goal by December 31, 2002 if
current trends continue.
Court Hears Arguments on Use of Eagle Feathers in Religion
DENVER, CO. (AP) Lawyers
for three people who want to use
eagle feathers in religious practices
recently argued before an appeals
court that a law limiting the use of
the feathers to members of feder
ally recognized Indian Tribes is too
restrictive.
The cases before the 10th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals weigh free
dom of religion against the
government's right to protect bald
and golden eagles. One case in
volves a descendent of the
Chiricahua Apaches in New
Mexico, a Tribe no longer recog
nized by the federal government.
The other two involve non-Indians
from Utah. All say they prac
tice American Indian religion.
"We don't deny there is a compel
ling state interest in protecting
eagles," said Cindy Barton-Coombs,
lawyer for Raymond Hardman of
Neola, Utah. "We do not believe
there is a compelling state interest
in keeping Mr. Hardman or other
practitioners of American Indian
religion from keeping eagle feath
ers." The use of eagle feathers is cen
tral to American Indian religion,
she added.
Hardman and Samuel Ray
Wilgus Jr. of Davis County, neither
of Indian descent, were cited for
having eagle feathers, which are
restricted to Tribal members who
have permits.
Each appealed from U.S. District
Court rulings that rejected argu
ments they were entitled to the feath
ers because of their religion. The New
Mexico case involves Joseluis Saenz,
a descendant of the Chiricahua
Apaches. Prosecutors appealed a
lower court ruling that seizure of his
eagle feathers violated the Religious
Freedom Restoration Act.
Lawyers for the Utah men said
they based their claims in the lower
court on the First Amendment be
cause the Religious Freedom Res
toration Act's constitutionality was
in question at the time. The law
was later found to apply only to the
federal government.
Lawyers for the three men con
tended the Migratory Bird Treaty
Act and the Bald and Golden Eagle
Protection Act are too restrictive.
But Kathryn Kovacs, a lawyer for
the federal government, argued
that the demand for eagle feathers
exceeds the federal government's
supply.
They are kept in a repository in
the Denver area.
"The government has to provide
exemptions for religion only if it
doesn't undermine the statutes'
purpose," said Kovacs.
Federal officials have suggested
removing the bald eagle from the
Endangered Species List because its
numbers have increased, but
Kovacs urged caution.
"There are only 40 pairs (of
eagles) in the southwest region, so
I urge you not to overestimate its
alleged rebound," she said.
She argued the demand for the
feathers might grow if the courts
allow non-Indians to have them.
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Some of the judges questioned that.
Judge Bobby Baldock asked why the
government couldn't just approve
permits until the feathers run out.
"The government doesn't have a
compelling interest in who gets
them. The government has a com
pelling interest in how many are
out there in distribution, isn't that
right?," asked Baldock.
In an unusual move, 11 circuit
judges, rather than a three-judge
panel, heard the arguments. The
cases are separate but the hearings
were combined because they raise
the same questions. The judges will
issue a ruling later.
Former Official Objects to Rejection of Duwamish Tribal Status
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SEATTLE, WA. (AP) A former
Interior Department official in the
Clinton administration has criti
cized his successors for reversing his
order that would have given offi
cial Tribal recognition to Seattle's
Duwamish Indians.
An administrative court has sent
the Duwamish case back to the In
terior Department, which decided
last fall that the Tribe is extinct.
The Tribe's forebears include Chief
Seattle, the city's namesake.
Federal recognition brings money
for Tribal government, health care,
housing, social services and cultural
programs, as well as the opportu
nity to create a reservation.
Michael J. Anderson, Interior's
Assistant Secretary for Indian Af
fairs in the Bill Clinton administra
tion, signed the order on January
19, 2001, the day before President
George W. Bush was inaugurated.
In September, the department's
Bureau of Indian Affairs, saying it
was not final and a new ruling was
issued against the Duwamish, dis
regarded the order.
The Interior Department violated
procedural law and altered docu
ments to make the order appear
preliminary, said Anderson re
cently. "Until the evening of January 19,
I was the decision-maker and un
der the regulations of the Adminis
trative Procedures Act. The assis
tant secretary has the authority to
make a final decision based on the
record," said Anderson from his
Washington, D.C., office.
"I made that decision, communi
cated it to the Tribe and signed a
memo on it. In my view, that was
the final decision."
Cecile Hansen, Chairwoman of
the 560 would-be Tribal members,
said the Duwamish received
"shabby treatment" by the BIA.
She said she would take the case to
federal court if the Tribe were not
granted recognition.
Suing the government would be
a last resort, said Duwamish Attor
ney Dennis Whittlesey in Washing
ton, D.C. The Tribe has appealed
the September ruling.
Anderson's decision to recognize
the Tribe came over the objection
of the BIA's Branch of Acknowledg
ment and Research, which evalu
ates petitions for Tribal recognition.
He said he listened to concerns of
research staff and to an outside con
sultant. Anderson said the face page of
the document was altered and
stamped with the word "DRAFT.
January 19, 2001," making it ap
pear to be a draft rather than a fi
nal decision.
Anderson did not know the docu
ment had been stamped as a draft
until a reporter contacted him this
week, he said.
"I learned for the first time that
my approval had been altered and
falsely stated," said Anderson.
His decision to recognize the
Duwamish reversed a 1996 rejec
tion. In 1996, government officials fo
cused on the period between 1915
and 1925, maintaining that the
Tribe before 1915 was different
than the modern petitioners, who
date from 1925. Duwamish officials,
who have been pressing for federal
recognition since 1979, submitted
church records, oral histories, news
accounts and other sources to cover
the 10-year gap.
The recognition was placed on
hold after Bush suspended all
Clinton administration rulings that
had not yet been published in the
Federal Register.
Neal A. McCaleb, Bush's Assis
tant Interior Secretary for Indian
Affairs, said recently the Duwamish
failed to meet criteria for federal
recognition.