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 Injured
Eagle Finds Home on Native Reservation
By Ben Ikenson, Environmental News Network
Monday, August 27, 2001
(Used with permission)
During a severe ice storm in southeastern Oklahoma last December, a bald eagle
feeding on road-killed carcass nearly became roadkill itself when it was struck
by a truck. Instead, the injured eagle was taken to an avian vet who pinned its
broken bones. The bird was then left to heal under the care of federally
licensed wildlife rehabilitator Kathy Siftar.
When the breaks did not heal though, part of the eagle's right wing was
amputated but now the bird would be unable to survive in the wild. Siftar looked
after the bird for three troubling months. Because rehabilitators can only keep
animals for eventual release, she was faced with the daunting task of either
finding a home for the eagle, or else euthanizing it.
"Despite the fact that the bird would be unable to survive in the wild without
the ability to fly, breed, and feed, it appeared to be recovering from the
surgery and in relatively good health. We really didn't want to have to
euthanize it," Siftar said.
Little did she know that her prayers would be answered by an Indian tribe some
700 miles away. An American Airlines test flight delivered her and her bird,
free of charge, to the Albuquerque Sunport, where their arrival signified a
spiritual departure.
"Not only do we revere wildlife," said Malcolm Bowekaty, governor of the Pueblo
of Zuni, "many species are sacred and some are considered to be incarnations of
our ancestors. One of these is the eagle, and many aspects of our religion call
for the use of eagle feathers."
Historically, Zuni Indians gathered eagles by combing the clay-colored mesas,
sandstone bluffs, and juniper-studded hillsides that hem the river valley they
have inhabited for centuries. But since Congress enacted the Bald Eagle
Protection Act in 1940, and later amended the Act in 1962 to include golden
eagles, the collection of these birds from the wild became illegal.
The law did, however, provide for Native American religious use of eagle
feathers, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service established the National Eagle
Repository, near Denver, Colorado. The facility stores eagle carcasses
specifically for the purpose of distributing parts or feathers to tribal members
who apply for permits and make official requests. But with approximately 5,000
individuals on a waiting list, the demand is, at times, hard to meet.
"While this system has its benefits, it often takes more than three years to
receive an eagle carcass," said Edward Wemytewa, Tribe Member and Cultural Area
Wetland Restoration Coordinator. "This is an unacceptably long delay when a
tribal religious leader needs feathers for an upcoming ceremony."
In 1996, the Pueblo of Zuni initiated talks with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service about how to alleviate a waiting period to receive eagle feathers for
ceremonial purposes. It was then that the idea of an on-reservation eagle
facility was hatched.
"One of the alternatives," Wemytewa said, "was to build our own eagle aviary,
with the hope that there would be a supply of non-releasable birds to place in
it."
Certified wildlife rehabilitators, like Kathy Siftar, usually determine whether
a bird has regained the ability to survive in the wild. These discussions bore
the seeds of what would become the first aviary of its kind -- a home for
permanently injured eagles that simultaneously alleviates tribal cultural
demands.
"With a legitimate ceremonial need and the proper permits, any tribe can have an
eagle aviary," said John Antonio, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Native
American Liaison in the Southwest. "But to fulfill the various technical
requirements, it takes some innovation and a great deal of determination."
After the Pueblo of Zuni council learned the technical requirements of operating
an eagle facility, tribal members began construction of the aviary through
significant in-kind funds from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and generous
contributions from The Lannan Foundation, The Christopher Reynolds Foundation,
The Fund of Four Directions, The Angelica Foundation, and the Chamiza
Foundation.
Noted architects Claude Armstrong and Donna Cohen volunteered their expertise in
designing the building, which strongly reflects its natural surroundings. All
earth tones and pueblo-style architecture, the 4,300 square-foot building blends
well against a backdrop of sharp-edged mesas. Vertical rows of neatly ordered
pine slats separated by two-inch gaps form the walls, lending the structure an
essential airiness.
The main flight area is 100 feet long by 25 feet wide and 18 feet high, with
four smaller enclosed areas for flightless birds. The floor is river-washed pea
gravel, and the facade is made from locally quarried sandstone. Much of the wood
comes from sustainably harvested trees milled at the Zuni community sawmill. The
front of the building intentionally faces Dowa Yallane, a sacred mesa to the
Zuni.
"This is a fine example of self-determination for Indian people, and the Zuni
are very proud," said Antonio. "Not only does this facility help meet current
demands for ceremonial purposes, it represents sovereignty that will, above all,
preserve native culture."
Sustaining the Zuni culture may also help sustain a species. The Pueblo is
exploring options to develop a captive-breeding program with the birds in the
aviary to assist in eagle restoration efforts in the Southwest. In the meantime,
the aviary provides a home to eagles that have missing bones or wings, vision
impairments, or other permanent injuries.
After Kathy Siftar declared her bald eagle "non-releasable," she was only too
relieved to learn about the aviary at the Pueblo of Zuni. When American Airlines
representatives learned about the situation, they wanted to help. On April 26, a
free test flight on an appropriately-named "American Eagle" aircraft brought
Siftar and her bird from Tulsa to Albuquerque where they were met by
representatives of both the Pueblo and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Following a brief veterinary examination at the Rio Grande Zoo, the bird was
transported to the reservation in western New Mexico. At the entrance to the
Pueblo of Zuni, a medicine man held a brief purification ceremony to bless the
eagle. As it joined 14 other eagles, both bald and golden, housed in the airy
confines of the aviary, a light sprinkle fell through the rafters from the skies
above the Pueblo.
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