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CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - With the population of bald eagles now high enough that they're no longer protected under the federal Endangered Species Act, some American Indians in Wyoming say the federal government shouldn't require them to get permission to kill the birds for religious ceremonies.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver is scheduled to hear arguments next month about whether to reinstate a criminal charge against Winslow Friday.
Friday is a 23-year-old member of the Northern Arapaho tribe who shot a bald eagle on the Wind River Reservation in 2005 for use in his tribe's Sun Dance.
John T. Carlson, an assistant federal public defender, represents Friday.
If the appeals court sides with Friday, Carlson said it would mean that the government will no longer be able to force tribal members to get government permission to engage sincerely held religious ceremonies that require killing eagles.
Carlson said he will consider appealing the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court if the appeals court grants the federal government's request to reinstate the criminal charge against Friday.