U.S. SENATOR FROM ALASKA INTRODUCES BILL TO ALLOW INDIGENOUS ARTISTS TO USE BIRD FEATHERS, PARTS
Legislation named for late Tlingit artist Archie Cavanaugh
10-17-24
(Amendment) (Background)
A United States senator from Alaska has introduced an amendment to the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) to preserve and expand the rights of Native artists to use feathers and other bird materials in their artistic practices.
U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, who filed the bill last month, named the legislation after the late award-winning Tlingit artist Archie Cavanaugh, who suffered a legal ordeal after he tried to sell pieces adorned with flicker and raven feathers in 2012.
SHI President Rosita Worl welcomed the bill, saying federal law must recognize and allow for the use of bird parts by Indigenous artists, who are practicing customs long held by their ancestors.
“So many of our people use these materials and they’re not aware that selling them is prohibited. The use of flicker feathers is an ancient practice, and Archie used feathers that came from birds that are not endangered,” Worl said.
Sen. Sullivan called Cavanaugh’s ordeal completely unacceptable.
“Not only do we need to cut through the confusion and affirm the legal rights of Alaska Native people to use these materials, we need justice for those who have been unfairly targeted for taking part in centuries-old, sustainable cultural practices,” Sullivan said.
SHI has worked with the state’s congressional delegation and the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) to secure revisions to federal law ever since Cavanaugh’s plight 12 years ago.
Sen. Sullivan introduced S.5258 on Sept. 25, 2024. It follows on the heels of past work by Alaska’s congressional delegation to secure protections for Indigenous artists under the MBTA.
Background
In 2012, the award-winning Tlingit artist Archie Cavanaugh was accused by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act for attempting to sell a shakee.át (headdress) adorned with flicker feathers and a hat that had raven feathers on it.
Cavanaugh faced the threat of 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine. The agents confiscated the feathers and a rifle previously owned by his father that Archie used to hunt for and feed his family.
The use of feathers on Northwest Coast art is an ancient art practice.
Cavanaugh said he did not know he was prohibited by federal law from using flicker and raven feathers on pieces for sale, and he wanted other Native artists to know they could be in legal peril as well.
“It was devastating, it was depressive. It was hurtful, painful, for a carver—a Tlingit—to go through what I did, not knowing it was a law,” Cavanaugh said at the time.
The artist faced charges under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act for the attempted sale of flicker feathers and under the Lacey Act for the attempted sale of raven feathers. He hired a lawyer and settled the case, agreeing to pay a $2,000 fine with no prison time. He also was forced to strip the feathers from his pieces and hand them over to the agency.
Cavanaugh said he complied to avoid prison time and a financially devastating fine but noted he didn’t understand why he wasn’t allowed to sell especially items adorned with flicker feathers, which are found on ancient pieces. A revered Tlingit carver from Wrangell named Kaajisduáx.ch (Man for You to Hear) sold such pieces, he said.
“He came from Wrangell all through Southeast doing all kinds of art projects for people, for tribes, for clans, and he never did it for free. He was always paid tináa (copper shields).”
SHI worked with the AFN that year to advocate for a federal amendment to exempt Native handicrafts from the prohibition on the sale or purchase of nonedible parts of migratory birds that were taken for subsistence purposes.
The AFN unanimously passed the resolution at its convention in October 2012.
In 2013, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska introduced a bill exempting some traditional and customary Alaska Native handicrafts from penalties under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. U.S. Rep. Don Young of Alaska introduced companion legislation in the House. The legislation evolved and gained some traction in Congress until Young’s death in 2022.
Sen. Sullivan, who was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2014, picked up the legislation in part because he now serves on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which has jurisdiction over the MBTA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Sullivan called the amendment a critical piece of legislation and thanked Worl and the many stakeholders across Alaska who have worked on the bill with him and his team.
“Alaska Native artists, who have sustainably used natural materials in traditional art and cultural practices for thousands of years, are negatively impacted by overly broad bans on bird feathers,” Sen. Sullivan said.
“The products made with bird feathers provide not just valuable artistic and cultural expressions, but also vital income for many rural Alaskans. Many of these restrictions have been enacted without consultation from Indigenous communities and local lawmakers—and can have devastating consequences.”
Archie, who was Raven from the G̱aanax̱teidí clan of the Xíxch’I Hít (Frog House) in Klukwan, passed away in August 2018.
“We envisioned a future ceremony after the law changed when we would restore the feathers to Archie’s pieces. In our vision, Archie placed the flicker feathers back on his headdress and the raven feathers back on his hat. Now he will be with us in spirit,” Worl said.
Sealaska Heritage Institute is a private nonprofit founded in 1980 to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. Its goal is to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding through public services and events. SHI also conducts scientific and public policy research that promotes Alaska Native arts, cultures, history and education statewide. The institute is governed by a Board of Trustees and guided by a Council of Traditional Scholars, a Native Artist Committee and a Southeast Regional Language Committee.
CONTACT: Kathy Dye, SHI Communications and Publications Deputy Director, 907.321.4636, kathy.dye@sealaska.com.
Caption: Headdress by Archie Cavanaugh minus its flicker feathers, which were confiscated by the federal government in 2012. Photo by Kathy Dye, courtesy of Sealaska Heritage Institute. Note: Media outlets are welcome to use this image for coverage of this story. For high-resolution versions, contact kathy.dye@sealaska.com.