Canadian Indian Guilty in Eagle Smuggling Case

A Canadian Indian who said he was acting as a medicine man when he brought eagle feathers and remains across the border was convicted Friday by a federal jury.

Terry Antoine, 47, a member of the Salish tribe’s Cowichan band in Duncan, British Columbia, was found guilty of violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.

Prosecutors and Antoine’s lawyer declined to comment after the verdict.

During the trial, prosecutors argued that Antoine smuggled the eagle parts across the U.S. border without a permit, then sold or bartered them for cash, beadwork and other goods as part of a black-market scheme.

“Mr. Antoine would sell his beadwork openly,” Assistant U.S. Atty. Helen Brunner said. “What he didn’t sell openly was eagle parts. That was done behind closed doors.”

Antoine’s lawyer, Michael Filipovic, argued that his client acted as a medicine man when he traded eagle parts to other Indians, who use the parts in religious ceremonies.

“This case is in large part about an effort to impose the laws and values and views of a majority culture and apply it to an individual in a minority culture,” Filipovic said.

Parts from more than 100 eagle carcasses were discovered at Antoine’s home in Canada, where he faces similar charges. Once endangered, bald eagles are now listed as threatened in the lower 48 states. They’re protected by law in the United States and in Canada.

Antoine is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 11. He faces a maximum nine years in prison and $45,000 in fines.