The remains of the famous Big Bear bald eagle, Jackie, will be transferred under federal law to a facility that provides feathers and wings to Native American tribes.
But some fans of the bird popularized on a webcam overlooking her family’s nest say her remains should not go to the eagle repository but instead stay in the San Bernardino Mountains community where she lived.
Nathan Banda, tribal chairman of the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians, Acjachemen Nation in Orange County, said the remains should return to the tribal nation in San Bernardino County.
Banda says the bald eagle isn’t merely a bird but a “spiritual messenger.”
“They’re viewed to carry the prayers between us here on the physical world on Mother Earth and to the Creator because they fly higher than any other birds,” Banda said by phone Thursday afternoon.
Jackie, born in 2012 and made famous by a continuous livestream run by the environmental nonprofit group Friends of Big Bear Valley, was treated for weeks at the Ojai Raptor Center in Ventura County after a fight with other eagles that left her grounded for hours in mid-July.
Following the raptor’s Monday, Aug. 10, death, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife stated Tuesday, Aug. 11, that Jackie’s body will undergo a necropsy at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. Her remains will eventually be transferred to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Eagle Repository in Colorado.
That facility evaluates, stores and distributes remains, parts and feathers to enrolled members of federally recognized Native American tribes, which have traditionally used eagle remains, feathers and parts in religious and cultural ceremonies and in traditional regalia.
The repository was established in the 1970s and run out of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service office in Pocatello, Idaho.
Operations moved to a larger location in Colorado, just outside of Denver, in 1995.
Eagles are protected by two federal laws: the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which both prohibit the possession, use and sale of eagle feathers and parts. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service runs the repository as a clearinghouse for deceased eagles and eagle parts, providing Native Americans with eagle feathers for religious use.
Waiting periods for tribes to receive the remains of an adult bald eagle are up to a year and two months, according to the repository.
It remains unclear when or which federal Native American tribes will claim Jackie’s body in whole or in parts. The Fish and Wildlife Service did not respond to requests for comments this week as of Thursday morning. Aug. 13.
The Acjachemen Tribe is not federally recognized, but a state-recognized tribe. Therefore, it has not received eagle feathers from the National Eagle Repository. Still, the tribe possesses eagle feathers for ceremonies, Banda said.
“They’re gifted to us for various things from other nations, other tribal members, as a sign of respect that it’s earned and given for something that you’re doing within the community or your cultural practices,” Banda said.
Banda said that Jackie should be reunited with the tribal territory – the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation, which is near Highland in San Bernardino County.
A Yuhaaviatam spokesperson, Erinn Lynch, did not respond to a request for comment, but the tribe shared its condolences on social media accounts.
“Through her journey, Jackie inspired a deeper appreciation for the wildlife and landscapes of Southern California, which include our Marra’yam (Serrano) ancestral homelands where she lived,” a Wednesday, Aug. 12, Yuhaaviatam Instagram post read.
Though Jackie’s remains are headed to the repository, some of the bird’s fans say an exception should be made for the former online star.
Several of these conversations played out in Jackie update social media posts from Friends of Big Bear Valley.
Friends has said it has no input on how Jackie’s remains are handled, according to a Facebook post on Tuesday, Aug. 11.
Others would like a say in the matter.
“Is there any way at all that a special case can be made for Jackie to be cremated and buried within a monument located near her nest?” Sue Getchell commented on the Tuesday Facebook post. “Having her cut up and distributed amongst various Indian tribes is too much to bear,” she wrote.
Others, like Renee Montgomery, disagreed with the idea of returning Jackie’s remains to her old habitat.
“Please, know and be aware of how extremely sacred eagles are to our Native American brothers and sisters. Her remains go to one location where they will be handled with the utmost reverence and respect,” Montgomery wrote.
Banda said situations like this can offer a teachable moment for all.
“The loss of a of an eagle carries a deeper spiritual meaning for us,” Banda said.
“It reminds us of the responsibility to care for Mother Earth and the living beings of what’s here,” he said.