Intertribal Life Newspaper -

Lipan Apache Tribe wins 10-year fight for eagle feathers

McALLEN, TX-Ten years after a federal agent crashed the powwow of the Lipan Apache Nation in Texas and seized their eagle feathers, the tribe won a major victory that has major implications for not only all Native Americans but all people of religious faith.

"The fight wasn't for the feathers," said Robert Soto, pastor of the Grace Brethren Church of McAllen, Texas, and vice chairman of the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas. "It was for the religious rights for Native peoples."

"Today marks the end of a long journey," Soto told a group of supporters. "A journey that ten years ago seemed full of impossibilities. I have spent countless hours in prayer seeking God the Creator's help. No one had ever won a case like this and many had even suffered time in prison. ... [Yet] tonight, we gather together to celebrate the return of our eagle feathers. First and foremost, I thank my Lord and Savior for the wisdom He gave to people like our lawyers to help us not just win our feathers back, but to restore our culture and faith...I thank my wife Iris and the countless individuals whose faith and prayers have led us here today. As of this evening, we are free to dance, to worship, and to honor our God as Native people."

When he and other members went to sign the settlement with the Interior Department on June 13, they wore their feathers and had a celebratory dance with 150 people.

"I'm just excited," said Soto of the settlement. "Sometimes I think I'm dreaming this. It meant a lot to me. All I want is the restoration of Native rights."

WHAT GIVES THE GOVERNMENT THE RIGHT TO DICTATE OUR SPIRITUALITY? Pastor Robert Soto, vice-chairman, Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas.

North America's Indigenous Peoples consider the eagle sacred. It's also the national symbol of the United States. It was also, until 2007, on the endangered species list. The golden eagle also enjoys federal protection. The Fish and Wildlife Service, which is part of the Interior Department, keeps tight control over eagle feathers and parts of the bird, especially with federally-recognized Indian tribes, which have permits to use them.

The Lipan Apache Tribe, however, doesn't have federal recognition, making it vulnerable to federal action. The tribe is centered in McAllen and has about 4,000 members from San Antonio to the border.

Soto and several Native Americans challenged the Interior Department in court, eventually winning before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2014 on religious freedom grounds. After that decision, the federal government returned the feathers-both bald and golden eagle feathers were seized-to Soto and others.

"The government has no business sending undercover agents to raid peaceful Native American religious ceremonies," said Luke Goodrich, deputy general counsel of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which took on the case. "Native Americans were caring for eagles before this nation was a twinkle in the Founding Fathers' eyes. This historic agreement recognizes that the government violated Mr. Soto's religious freedom and must respect the rights of all Native Americans in the future."

With the help of the Becket Fund, Mr. Soto fought back in court, winning in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act-the same law that the Supreme Court used to protect U.S. retailer Hobby Lobby just months before.

In 2015, the government agreed to return the eagle feathers but still threatened Mr. Soto and his congregation with civil and criminal penalties if they used those feathers in their powwows.

This agreement recognizes Soto's right and that of over 400 members of his congregations to freely use eagle feathers in observance of their faith. They are also free to keep, share, loan, and travel with their eagle feathers, and even obtain new ones from the National Eagle Repository. And the government has promised to reconsider its policies for enforcing feather restrictions, meaning that it will likely rethink ill-conceived methods like Operation PowWow in the future.

"This is a victory not just for me and my people, but for all people of faith," said Pastor Soto. "If the government can take away my freedom, it can take away yours. So we have to stand together."

mrecio@mcclatchydc.com

Editor's note: Robert Soto's life story was published in Indian Life