And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Battle Lines Drawn in Federal Eagle Feather Case; Prosecutor Disputes Claim Man Was Adopted Into Paiute Tribe Bob Mims http://www.sltrib.com/ The Salt Lake Tribune A federal judge will be asked to weigh the letter of the law against a Paiute woman's purported death bed adoption of a white son when he considers a motion to dismiss eagle feather-possession charges against the Layton man. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Chaney established the battleground Wednesday when he filed his response to defense attorney Joe Orifici's earlier bid to throw out two misdemeanor counts filed against Samuel Wilgus. The 50-year-old Wilgus, who is white, was found with 37 golden and bald eagle feathers in a box stored in the bed of his pickup truck during a June 5, 1998, traffic stop near Fillmore. Four days later, during a search of Wilgus' home, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources officers found four more eagle feathers. Wilgus, a counselor at the Clearfield Job Corps Center, argues he could legally possess the feathers both on religious freedom grounds -- as he is a practicing member ... Chaney wrote, noting an affidavit from tribal Chairwoman Geneal Anderson stating that Wilgus does not appear on Paiute membership rolls. As for the adoption, the government maintains it falls far short of Paiute constitutional requirements, one of which is that the adoptee be able to show 100 percent Indian blood from a recognized U.S. tribe. The Paiute constitution also requires adoptions to be approved by a tribal referendum vote, Chaney argues. "There's spiritual adoptions, too," Wilgus said late Wednesday. "That's been going on for hundreds of years, whether the tribe recognizes it or not." Orifici agreed, saying he planned to argue that his client's adoption indeed followed accepted American Indian traditions, if not the letter of the law. "In any other religion you would not be categorizing someone this way," Orifici said. Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ UPDATES: CAMP JUSTICE http://shell.webbernet.net/~ishgooda/oglala/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
