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https://reasonstobecheerful.world/sacred-feathers-repository-native-american-traditions/>
"In a small room tucked away in the back of an Arizona-based wildlife
rehabilitation center, Robert Mesta sits surrounded by displays of feathers of
all sizes and colors, taxidermied birds and Native American implements crafted
from feathers.
A stack of papers rests on the table in front of him. Sent from across the
country, the pages contain seemingly unusual requests: One gentleman asks for
the carcass of an adult northern shrike, a pint-size predatory songbird native
to the northern reaches of the US and Canada. Another wants a hawk’s tail —
red-tailed preferred, but Harris’s or rough-legged will suffice. And a woman in
Alaska seeks puffin beaks that she will use to create a traditional Tlingit
dance skirt.
After leafing through the applications, Mesta turns to a row of cabinets and
refrigerators and begins pulling out bags overflowing with feathers, claws and
even entire birds. He carefully chooses each individual item, making sure
pattern, size and color match and that it fulfills the requestor’s needs. The
final selections are then boxed and prepared to be mailed.
Each completed shipment symbolizes both a cultural and conservational victory.
Mesta is the director of the Liberty Wildlife Non-Eagle Feather Repository
(NEFR), one of only three organizations in the country that is permitted by the
US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to accept, hold and distribute feathers.
Since 2010, it has worked to provide Native Americans with a legal and no-cost
source of non-eagle feathers and birds for ceremonial, religious and healing
purposes.
“Our goal is twofold: to help sustain Native American cultures and also to help
sustain our North American bird populations,” explains Mesta, who is a member
of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe. “The whole idea is that the tribes come to us for
their feathers, and if they do that, they’re not buying them off the black
market. And if they’re not buying them, there’s not a profit. And if there’s
not a profit, people quit killing birds.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
