FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) ‐ Arizona Native American tribes on the hunt for animal hides, antlers, teeth and other parts for cultural and religious use have a unique new resource: the state’s wildlife agency.
A recently launched program allows Arizona’s nearly two dozen tribes to make requests to the state Game and Fish Department for animals that have died from poaching or natural causes, or after being hit by a vehicle.
Agency game managers, researchers and other employees then keep an eye out for the carcasses as part of their regular work.
"It’s all just opportunistic collection of what we find out in the field," said the department’s tribal liaison, Jon Cooley, who grew up on the Fort Apache reservation in eastern Arizona.
So far, the program’s biggest customers are the Navajo Nation, which has collected bear and mule deer carcasses, and the Hopi Tribe, which has requested turtle shells, and turkey and water fowl feathers. The agency also gathered turtle shells for New Mexico pueblos, often used as ankle or hand rattles in ceremonial dances. |