“Lone eagles, soaring in the clouds, fly with silent, peaceful poise . . . ” -William Arthur Ward.   Take a peek at the eagles nest in Decorah, Iowa.  The camera is on 24/7.

http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles

I find it just amazing to watch the number of people all over the world who are watching at any given moment.  When you click on the link it will display the number of people who are currently online and watching.

Just this March 2011, a federal appeals court confirmed  that only American Indians can own eagle feathers for religious purposes. Eagles are protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.  This  bans the possession of feathers to anyone except Indian tribes. That means that anyone else with an eagle feather in their possession can be fine up to $25,000! Defenders of the law have argued it is the only legal protection of Native American spirituality.  After all that has has been taken from the Native Americans in this country, isn’t this a small concession?

Currently, there are over 4,000 people on the waiting list for approximately 900 eagles the National Eagle Repository receives each year. Usually these are salvaged by State and Federal Wildlife personnel. Applicants can expect to wait approximately 2 and one half years for an order to be filled.

As an artist who likes to combine glass art with natural materials, I might have been interested in finding an eagle feather to use in my work.  Then I came across an article about Peggy Barton, who in 1994 gave Hilary Clinton a gift of a dream catcher with an eagle feather incorporated. She was subsequently prosecuted. Luckily (?), her fine was only $1200 per feather…

guess I won’t be tryin’ that.

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