"Operation
Powwow" sounds like a joke. But it was nothing to laugh about when a
federal undercover agent raided Pastor Robert Soto's church service in 2006.
His Grace Brethren Church in McAllen, Texas, is a syncretic denomination. That
means its members are Christian, while their rituals incorporate traditions of
the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas.
The agent
saw Soto wearing a headdress that displayed two feathers from a gold eagle.
Soto's brother-in-law was also wearing eagle feathers. Like many American
Indian tribes, the Lipan Apache hold eagles sacred. They use eagle feathers in
their religious rituals as they believe this majestic bird's high-flying
ways put it close to God.
"The
agent threatened to arrest me if I didn't allow him to go into [our worship]
circle," Soto recalled. "That's when I found out that I was facing up
to 15 years in federal penitentiary and up to a $250,000 fine for having those
feathers."
Severe Penalties
Federal law
forbids the possession of eagle feathers unless one has a permit, and these are
typically only issued to tribes for religious purposes. At the time, however, only
the state of Texas recognized the Lipan Apache as a tribe. Because the tribe
was not recognized by Uncle Sam, it held no permit, because it could not apply
for one.
(The law
calls for severe penalties. When it was enacted, eagles were near extinction.
Today, however, eagles are no longer on the federal government's list of
threatened or endangered species. In fact, federal law allows eagles to be
legally killed or injured by high-speed energy producing wind turbines. The precise
number killed this way each year is unknown. Some speculate the number may be
as high as 4,200.)
Soto felt
as though his spirituality had been stolen from him. "If
I remember anything of that day, it was the children running around. Some were
crying and some were trying to hide," he said. As a result of the raid,
his congregation shrank. Plans to pay him a salary were abandoned, and he
developed heart trouble which he says was caused by the stress of his legal
woes.
“The Way He Created Us”
Soto
and other plaintiffs filed a suit in federal court alleging that the seizure of
42 eagle feathers violated their right to the Free Exercise of their religious
beliefs guaranteed by the Constitution.
“If
I got caught speeding, I deserve a speeding ticket, but if I get caught
worshipping God the way He created us as native people, that’s not violating
the law,” Soto said. “If anything, the government is violating my rights
because [it's] interfering with my rights to worship God the way He created us."
Soto's
case wound its way through the federal court system. After nine years, the
Supreme Court ruled that because the federal government allowed other tribes to
possess eagle feathers it had failed to show that it had a "compelling
interest" in denying the Lipan Apaches the same treatment.
"We are free to dance, to worship, and to honor
our God as native people," said Soto. "The fight wasn't for the
feathers. It was for the religious rights for native peoples."
MORAL: Bring eagle feathers into your life, not bull feathers.
Buy the book "Courage 101: True Tales of Grit & Glory" at Amazon!
Buy the book "Courage 101: True Tales of Grit & Glory" at Amazon!
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