Controversy over Hopi eagle gathering revived

Posted by Navajo Times | May 9, 2017 | News |

WINDOW ROCK

Officials for the Navajo Nation Fish & Wildlife Department are reporting they are still having problems with the Hopi Tribe over the annual gathering of golden eagles from Navajo lands.

In a report to members of the Navajo Nation Council, the department said current permits from the federal government allow Hopi tribal members to collect 18 eagles a year. That number will be the limit allowed each year until an eagle population study is completed.

This is controversial since chapters in the western portion of the reservation where the eagles are gathered have protested since in Navajo culture eagles are to be protected while in Hopi culture they are gathered and tied to special posts until they are needed for Hopi ceremonies and are then killed.

The Navajo Nation has protested for years arguing that current figures on eagle population are not accurate. Tribal officials also claim that since the Hopis have been going onto Navajo lands, the eagle population has been reduced substantially both by the Hopis collecting the birds and eagles building their nests elsewhere.

The intergovernmental agreement between the Hopis and the Navajos requires that a study of the eagle population be done over a period of 10 to 12 years. But tribal officials estimate that such a study over that length of time would cost the federal government somewhere in the range of $50 million.

Realizing that a study that extensive would be unrealistic, Navajo fish and wildlife officials have come up with an alternative plan that would cost $500,000. But even that, under current budget restrains in the federal government, would be difficult if not impossible to get.