Sacred messengers: Feathers from golden eagles, housed at the Zuni Eagle Flight Center, are used in religious and cultural ceremonies.

Majestic eagles play a part in Zuni Agriculture

To many Native Americans, the eagle is a sacred messenger that carries their prayers to the Creator. Feathers from these magnificent creatures are used in religious and cultural ceremonies. The soft, white feathers found near the base of the tail often are used to represent rain clouds in crop planting ceremonies.

Traditionally, shed eagle feathers were collected from the wild. However, years of habitat loss and poaching have reduced the number of golden and bald eagles in the United States. Today, only Native Americans can own eagles or eagle parts, according to the National Eagle Repository in Denver, Colo.

"For Zunis, who use a lot of feathers in their ceremonies, the problem is that there are no active eagle nests on their reservation," says Steve Albert, director of the Zuni Fish and Wildlife Department (FWD). "For the past few years, up to 40 percent of requests from this region to the National Eagle Repository in Denver were from members of the Zuni tribe."

Four years ago, Albert began working with the U.S. Fish and Wild-life Service to provide more feathers for the Zunis. "We discovered that there is a shortage of homes for non-releasable eagles," he says. "These can be eagles with permanent injuries, or ones that were born in captivity and have imprinted on humans."

With funding from the Zuni tribe, five private foundations and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Zuni FWD planned a captive eagle flight center. Albuquerque architects Donna Cohen and Claude Armstrong were familiar with pueblo-style architecture and built a full-scale model of dry-laid sandstone with no visible mortar.

Foot injuries are a common problem in captive birds. "Any sharp surfaces can lead to cuts and infections," Albert says. "The architects studied and followed patterns of existing eagle flight cages, incorporating vertical wooden slats to prohibit perching on the sides of the cage."

The Zuni Eagle Flight Center also has pea gravel along the floor and artificial turf on the perches. Con-struction took approximately one year.

Then the only thing missing was the eagles. "We began collecting birds this year," he says.

Three golden eagles have made their home at the Zuni Eagle Flight Center since early summer. "We have three males, all 2 to 4 years old," Albert says. "We have space to house 10 eagles at capacity."

Zuni FWD personnel collect molted feathers and work with cultural leaders of the tribe to distribute them. "Overall, the reviews have been great," he says. "The Zunis are very excited to have this facility here."

Perhaps it's a coincidence, but since the eagles have been located in Zuni, the village has received more rain than normal, says Kathy Landers, Zuni Cooperative Extension Service agent. "The tribe also appreciates the benefit of not having to wait for feathers from Denver to conduct traditional planting ceremonies."

Albert wants to establish a partnership with Albuquerque's Rio Grande Zoo to share information on eagle handling techniques and captive rearing.

Through contacts with other eagle facilities, he hopes to obtain a tame captive eagle for educational projects within the community. Then, perhaps, the sacred messenger can be used to tell the story of Native American agriculture.