Feathers, Fasting, and the Eagle Complex: A Contemporary Analysis of the Eagle as a Cultural Resource in the Northern Plains

Abstract

Since the 1940s, eagle protection legislation has placed severe constraints on eagle trapping traditions among tribes of the northern Plains. In light of the recent delisting of the eagle as an endangered species, a collaborative project involving individuals from the Three Affiliated Tribes, University of Arizona, and National Park Service aimed to identify continuities and discontinuities in eagle knowledge and the acquisition and use of eagle parts, document the locations of eagle trapping and associated ceremonial sites on federally managed lands in North Dakota, and ascertain how the eagle is situated in contemporary contexts of identity, belief, and practice. Interviews with consultants from the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation suggest that the cultural significance of the eagle is primarily associative and agential, and that the capacity of the eagle to influence human action, to transform people and objects, and to integrate the object and spirit worlds makes it a singularly unique resource. This research highlights how agency and materiality frameworks in North American archaeology both contribute substantively to reconceptualizations of resources and landscapes, and demonstrates that in collaborative concepts, indigenous concepts can effectively be integrated into practical frameworks for land-managers.

Keywords:

• eagles
• Three Affiliated Tribes
• agency
• eagle trapping
• cultural resource management