Native Americans have long used eagle remains, parts and feathers for religious and cultural purposes, including in ceremonies and as part of traditional regalia.
Recognizing the significance of eagles to Native Americans, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) established the National Eagle Repository (Repository) in the early 1970s to provide enrolled members of federal recognized Native American Tribes with the remains, parts, and feathers of bald and golden eagles for spiritual and religious use.
The National Eagle Repository serves to receive, evaluate, store and distribute the remains, parts, and feathers of deceased bald and golden eagles to enrolled members of federally recognized Native American Tribes.
The National Eagle Repository was first established in the 1970s and was operated out of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agent Office in Pocatello, Idaho.
In 1994, President Bill Clinton signed an executive order directing federal agencies to "expeditiously recover salvageable eagles found on lands under their jurisdiction and ensure that the eagles are promptly shipped to the National Eagle Repository," support longstanding Tribal religious practices. Clinton wrote:
"Eagle feathers hold a sacred place in Native American culture and religious practices. Because of the feathers' significance to Native American heritage and consistent with due respect for the government-to-government relationship between the Federal and Native American tribal governments, this Administration has undertaken policy and procedural changes to facilitate the collection and distribution of scarce eagle bodies and parts for this purpose. This memorandum affirms and formalizes executive branch policy to ensure that progress begun on this important matter continues across the executive branch.
Today, as part of an historic meeting with all federally recognized tribal governments, I am directing executive departments and agencies (hereafter collectively "agency" or "agencies") to work cooperatively with tribal governments and to reexamine broadly their practices and procedures to seek opportunities to accommodate Native American religious practices to the fullest extent under the law."
Read the full text of the executive order here.
This order expanded the National Eagle Repository's operations and the program was moved to a new, larger location in Colorado. The National Eagle Repository is located today on the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge and is co-located with the National Wildlife Property Repository.