What do you get when you mix national symbols, religion and the law? A whole mess of trouble and a lot of unsatisfied people.

On March 17, 1997, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, notorious for being the most liberal court in the land, upheld the convictions of two Crow Indians in Montana for killing and purchasing eagles. The two brothers, William and Frank Hugs, are guilty of violating federal law that protects both golden and bald eagles. The court stated that the law, on the surface, did not violate religious freedom.

The Hugs brothers were hired by a federal agent posing as a big-game hunter to guide his hunt on the Crow Reservation. While the agent watched the Hugs shoot at both golden and bald eagles, the brothers also told the agent they bought and sold eagles and eagle parts. A search of William’s home found eagle-feather war bonnets, a freshly killed golden eagle and a videotape showing Hugs shooting and killing eagles caught in leg traps.

The court sentenced William Hugs to 18 months in prison and his brother Frank to 15 months. They were free during their appeal.

The law prohibits the killing, possession, purchase or sale of bald or golden eagles. At this point, the law seems clear and concise. But while bald eagles are classified as a threatened species, golden eagles are not considered threatened or endangered. The

problem is that young bald eagles can easily be mistaken for golden eagles.

Currently, Native Americans may seek permits from the Fish and Wildlife Service to obtain eagles or eagle parts for use in religious ceremonies. But as bald eagles inch closer to endangered status, and golden eagles get caught up in the nets of the debate, environmentalists and Native American rights activists are being forced to chose between two causes they often support simultaneously. When does nature lose out to religion, and should it ever?

As long as Native Americans use eagles or eagle parts in sacred ceremonies, their religious freedom should be respected as well as protected. The current practice of obtaining permits for eagle use is sound because it also serves to protect birds that increasingly need guardianship from humans.

The Daily Aztec proposes a limit on the number of permits that the Fish and Wildlife Service distributes to tribes. There must be a line drawn between religion and the complete destruction of a bird of prey. National symbol status aside, eagles are an integral part of their ecosystem and deserve some

semblance of protection.

It is difficult to propose compromise to a native people who have experienced nothing but compromises that never involved Indian viewpoints and that turned out to be lies. Unfortunately, there comes a time when nature is pitted against the freedom of people, and nature must have an advocate.