United States v. Dean R. Fryberg

Dean Raymond Fryberg was charged by information with the unlawful taking, shooting and killing of a bald eagle, in violation of 16 U.S.C. § 668 and 668c. He moved to dismiss the information on the grounds that “§ 668 et seq. cannot apply to the taking of an eagle for North American ceremonial and religious purposes”, a right secured to him by treaty, and that the prosecution constitutes a violation of the “free exercise” clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Following a combined evidentiary hearing and trial the district court denied the motion to dismiss and found the defendant guilty. We affirm.

Fryberg is an enrolled member of the Tulalip Indian Tribe. It is conceded that he has a treaty right to hunt on the Tulalip Reservation under the Treaty of Point Elliot, 12 Stat. 927 (1859). While deer hunting on the reservation, Fryberg shot and killed an immature bald eagle, which was perched in a tree located within reservation boundaries. He did not possess a permit which would allow a taking pursuant to 16 U.S.C. § 668a.

At the hearing in district court Fryberg claimed that his purpose in shooting the eagle was to obtain its feathers and other…