Eagle feathers play a sacred role in powwows. Poachers take advantage of the high demand

BILLINGS, Mont. – American golden eagles face a growing threat from a black market for their feathers used in Native American powwows and other ceremonies, wildlife officials, researchers and tribe members said.

The government’s response was twofold: a crackdown on groups that illegally trade dead eagles, coupled with a long-standing program that legally distributes eagle feathers and parts to tribal members.

But that program is years behind schedule, and officials say illegal killings appear to be worsening, with young golden eagles particularly targeted because of the high value placed on their white and black wing feathers. Golden eagles, which are federally protected but not considered endangered, were already facing pressure — from poisonings, climate change and wind turbines that kill eagles on collisions.

An investigation around an Indian reservation in Montana recently yielded its first conviction: A Washington state man was accused along with others of killing thousands of birds, including at least 118 bald and golden eagles, and selling their parts in the US and out there.

He will be sentenced Thursday to a maximum of five years in prison in a case that offers a rare glimpse into the black market.

Another investigation involving undercover agents has recovered 150 golden and bald eagles over the past decade, with 35 defendants charged and 31 convicted of wildlife violations, according to court documents and federal officials.

Perry Lilley, a member of the Nakota tribe in northern Montana, attends numerous powwows every year and says he has been asked to buy eagle feathers. He said illegal shootings were “absolutely wrong” but sympathized with tribal members who do not want to wait years for eagle parts.

Eagle feathers are woven into Native American culture. In addition to powwow regalia, they are presented to high school graduates, used in wedding ceremonies, and buried with the dead.

Exploiting indigenous traditions

A government warehouse in Colorado that provides dead eagles and their parts for free to tribal members is keeping track of orders for individual feathers, such as for college graduates. Yet the country cannot meet the demand for eagle wings, tails and whole birds, even as powwows become more elaborate and competitive.

This creates opportunities for criminals to exploit Native Americans in an attempt to keep traditions alive.

“The amount of money you can win at powwows has increased dramatically over the past decade, which has increased some of the demand,” said Ed Grace, chief of law enforcement for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “As the price of feathers rises, people … become opportunistic and see that you can make a lot of money in a relatively short time by poaching eagles to supply the feather trade.”

Eagle feathers were on full display at a recent powwow in Billings, where dozens of feather-decorated Native Americans paraded into a university fieldhouse to begin dancing competitions. Their feet moved to the rhythm of a drum, the rhythmic sounds periodically interrupted by high-pitched singing.

Women carried fans of eagle feathers. Men wore headdresses of eagle feathers that bounced back and forth as they danced.

At the head of the procession stood a man with a staff with an eagle’s head on it. Behind him, among the tribal elders, stood Kenneth Deputee Sr., from the nearby Crow Indian Reservation.

Around his waist was a decorative piece strung with eagle feathers, and he carried a short wooden stick, carved into the head of a bald eagle, from which hung a single feather.

For Deputee, the feathers mean strength and offer protection.

“The feathers are very important,” he said. “I’m 72 years old, but once I put that on, I’m ready to rock and roll. … All that power is coming back to me, you know, so I’m ready to go out and boogie woogie.

Comanche Nation member Bill Voelker describes powwows differently: more spectacle than spiritual, with some feathers purchased online and eagle parts can cost hundreds of dollars.

Not all powwows have cash prizes.

A ‘murder wave’ in Montana

In the ongoing poaching case in Montana, the defendant and his accomplices are alleged to have killed approximately 3,600 birds — including golden and bald eagles — in what one defendant called a “killing spree.” Prosecutors say the killings began in 2009 and continued until 2021 on the Flathead Reservation, home to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes.

Such investigations are resource-intensive and can take years, Grace said. That’s difficult to maintain for an agency that averages about three law enforcement officers per state.

The case, involving 150 eagle carcasses, spread across several states and involved two pawn shops in South Dakota, where bird parts were bought and sold, including in Iowa, Montana, Nebraska and Wyoming.

“Almost all the information we receive about the eagle trade comes from Native Americans, tribes and citizens,” Grace said. “And then we will look at that information and specifically go after the larger human trafficking groups.”

According to a recent government study, illegal shootings are a leading cause of eagle deaths. The pending case in Montana arose from an area with some of the highest concentrations of eagles and other birds of prey in the western US.

Online posts of people illegally selling eagle feathers are relatively easy to find on Internet marketplaces.

“The biggest atrocity in Indian country today is the powwow, but no one will say that out loud because everyone is participating,” said Voelker, who operates a tribally sanctioned feather depot and raptor sanctuary in southern Oklahoma.

Eagles on ice

Voelker’s is one of two non-federal feather warehouses in the US. Most of the dead eagles, parts and feathers received by tribal members come from the wildlife service’s National Eagle Repository.

At the agency’s warehouse building in a wildlife refuge outside Denver, a wildlife technician recently removed a cold eagle carcass from a box.

He spread the wings, fanned the tail, examined the feathers, then methodically cut off the tail with a knife and cut off the wings and legs with garden shears. The pieces went into separate plastic bags to be packaged and shipped to tribal members in the US

The repository receives 3,500 dead bald and golden eagles annually from state wildlife agencies, bird sanctuaries, zoos and other sources. It receives several thousand requests annually from tribal members for feathers, whole eagles and their parts.

Bird flu has delayed the processing of the birds in the warehouse; every eagle must now be tested to prevent its spread.

The longest backlog of applications concerns young golden eagles.

A dry-erase board in the processing area showed how demand far exceeds supply: 1,242 requests for entire immature golden eagles, of which only 17 are available. More than 600 requests for wings; 40 available. Nearly 450 tails requested; 17 available.

The repository is currently fulfilling requests for immature golden eagles submitted in 2013. Waiting times for bald eagles or parts thereof can be up to two years.

Lilley, the Nakota member, said many of the feathers in his regalia were donated to him or came from a dead eagle he found along a fence after it had apparently been shot.

He also received a golden eagle from the government repository, years after he requested it.

Lilley recalled his excitement when the package arrived with a whole bird on dry ice.

“I had to get someone to show me how to pluck it, take the feathers off, the tail feathers, the claws, the head and things like that,” he said.

One of the bird’s legs is attached to the short staff Lilley wields during powwow dances. A fan is made from a wing.

“For a dancer, it gets pretty hot when you’re outside, so that’s kind of like your air conditioner, that one fan,” he said.