Law

Delaware tribe might disenroll man in eagle flap

The Nanticoke Tribe of Delaware might disenroll a Florida man who has been convicted of violating federal laws that protect eagles.

Ed WindDancer, 51, says he is a tribal member. But Chief T. Norwood said he is only an associate member -- meaning he didn't have to prove he has Nanticoke blood.

WindDancer also claims Cherokee heritage. On his web page, he says he was "adopted" by a Lakota family.

WindDancer was sentenced by a federal judge in Tennessee to five years of probation and fined $5,000 for illegally possessing and trading eagle feathers. He admitted he traded bald and golden eagle feathers with an undercover agent from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"They had someone pretend to be another Native American, so I'm looking at him as a fellow believer in my faith," WindDancer told The Charlotte Sun-Herald. "The government's making it out to believe there was a commercial purpose to this, and there's not."

Get the Story:
Ed WindDancer will try to continue cultural work (The Charlotte Sun-Herald 3/20)

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