Eagle killing case belongs in tribal court

The federal government's four-year effort to prosecute an Ethete man, Winslow Friday, for killing a bald eagle for use in his Northern Arapaho tribe's religious Sun Dance ceremony may be almost over. It's high time for it to end. U.S. District Judge Alan Johnson of Cheyenne has ordered the transfer of Friday's case to a tribal court, which should have a special insight about the underlying issue of American Indian religious freedoms. The young man has endured a baffling turn of events as the case has made its way through the federal court system. It all started when Friday made a promise to his dying grandmother to participate in the Sun Dance, a sacred ceremony under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act that requires an eagle...read more