Interior Ordered to Pay Legal Fees Over Seizure of Eagle Feathers

A federal judge has ordered the Interior Department to pay $48,818 in legal fees and costs to a Chiricahua Apache who fought the agency for eight years over the seizure of eagle feathers. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agents seized items with feathers in 1996 from Joseluis Saenz, who used them in religious ceremonies. The agency, part of the Interior Department, said Saenz was not a member of a federally recognized tribe and contended he needed a permit under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. Fish and Wildlife did not pursue criminal charges against Saenz because of his “unique circumstances” of tribal affiliation. Some Apache who surrendered to the U.S. Calvary in the 1880s eventually were recognized by the federal government, but the Southern Chiricahua were not. Federal officials refused to return to Saenz religious items with feathers, including a shield, staff, quiver, fan and a dream catcher. He sued under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The late U. S. District Judge Edwin L. Mechem ruled in Saenz’s favor in 2000, finding him to be a sincere practitioner and a “genuine Indian.” Mechem said the government’s “strictly legal definition of Indian tribe for all purposes – historical, social, ethnic, religious, political and jurisdictional – conflicts with the reality of human experience.” The ceremonial items were returned, but the government appealed to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. That court ruled for Saenz, and he asked for reimbursement for legal fees.