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B.C. native carver fined $11,000 for trafficking in dead, illicit wildlife

The eagle holds a sacred place in the traditions of many aboriginal cultures but a flourishing trade in eagle feathers and parts has caused a clash between First Nations tradition and conservation laws.

One of the flash points has been the case of B.C. aboriginal carver James Carl Joseph, who was fined $11,000 this week after being convicted of several counts of illegally possessing eagle parts and one of trafficking in dead wildlife. The Crown had asked for a jail term and a $20,000 fine.

Despite reservations about how the eagle parts are obtained, First Nations leaders have supported Joseph's contention that he had an aboriginal right to them.

“We’re troubled when we see people nailed just for practising their aboriginal rights by maybe [taking] an eagle or hawk for cultural and spiritual ceremonies,” Grand Chief Doug Kelly of the Fraser Valley’s Sto:lo Nation told the Globe and Mail.

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But the judge who heard the case in Surrey provincial court ruled last month that there's no evidence of a historic aboriginal right to possess and trade eagle feathers and parts in violation of the B.C. Wildlife Act, the North Shore News reported.

The case stretches back almost a decade, when conservation officers found more than 40 dead, dismembered eagles rotting in a shallow grave on a North Vancouver reserve in 2005, the Globe said. The subsequent investigation turned up a large cross-border trade in eagle feathers and parts.

The feathers, which can sell for hundreds of dollars each, and parts such as talons are in high demand for aboriginal costumes and use in ceremonies. The birds are protected under federal and provincial law and possession of eagle parts is illegal unless authorized. Some provinces provide them from the carcasses of birds killed accidentally.

But B.C. conservation officers have estimated up to a thousand eagles are killed annually for their feathers and parts.

Joseph, a respected carver, was implicated. The North Shore News said court documents showed he traded eagle parts with U.S. First Nations and used his carving workshop on the reserve to stash the dead eagles and cut them up.

He was among more than a dozen aboriginal men charged and he was convicted initially in 2009. In an interview with The Tyee at the time, Joseph said was ensnared in a sting operation by B.C. conservation officers.

"I said I'm a carver," Joseph said. "I don't do this [involvement with eagles] for money. You know, to get out there and to pursue this as a job or sales or thing like that. Well, people asked. For some reason [they] chose me."

Joseph's lawyer argued the 2009 conviction should be set aside because Joseph was exercising his aboriginal rights, the North Shore News said. Judge James Jardine last month dismissed that argument, concluding the Native American Church that Joseph belonged to was not a formal organization that could hold an aboriginal right.

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During his trial, aboriginal leaders condemned the way Joseph had treated the sacred animals but also criticized the sting operation that they said hit other natives who might take the occasional eagle.

The issue has created a dilemma in First Nations communities. Ojibway blogger Steve Julian, addressing the Joseph case in a post last year, said First Nations should consider how the demand for ceremonial feathers and eagle parts is being met.

"We need to take a look at how we gain these feathers," he wrote. "We need to respect the eagle and the significance it once meant to hold an eagle feather. It is too easy to get eagles these days. And that is a shame."

If eagles are to be killed for ceremonial purposes, it should be by only those selected for the task who have a knowledge and understanding of their sacred nature, Julian wrote.

"I don't advocate stopping the use of Eagles in Powwows, I just would like us to think about them and where they come from."