The eagle bone whistle is a religious object, used by some members of Native American spiritual societies in

sacred Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

ceremonies. They are made from bones of either the American

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

or the American

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of p ...

, and are considered powerful spiritual objects.Maroukis, Thomas Constantine (2005). ''Peyote and the Yankton Sioux: The Life and Times of Sam Necklace'', p.174. University of Oklahoma. . "Some of the visitors join us in all our social, spiritual, and other activities and become adopted members. This book was written by such a man aroukis who came to visit us and was accepted into our family over the last fifteen years." Leonard Bruguier, "Foreword", p.xii-iii.Maroukis, Thomas C. (2012). ''The Peyote Road: Religious Freedom and the Native American Church'', p.84. University of Oklahoma. . "I wish to express my gratitude to the many Crows who contributed information assistance," Preface, p.xvi.

Use

Eagle bone whistles are used in many ceremonies of various American Indigenous cultures. The eagle bone whistle may be considered as a ceremonial or sacred object which may not be considered a musical instrument, if music is defined as entertainment: "There is no time or need...to wallow in distinctions between a feather-and-bone raptor and a bone whistle avian mysticism; one would no doubt end in

dichotomous A dichotomy is a partition of a whole (or a set) into two parts (subsets). In other words, this couple of parts must be * jointly exhaustive: everything must belong to one part or the other, and * mutually exclusive: nothing can belong simultan ...

Western readings thereof." The whistle is used in some

Peyote The peyote (; ''Lophophora williamsii'' ) is a small, spineless cactus which contains psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline. ''Peyote'' is a Spanish word derived from the Nahuatl (), meaning "caterpillar cocoon", from a root , "to gl ...

ceremonies of some sects of the

Native American Church The Native American Church (NAC), also known as Peyotism and Peyote Religion, is a Native American religion that teaches a combination of traditional Native American beliefs and Christianity, with sacramental use of the entheogen peyote. The re ...

. Eagle bone whistles are used in a number of

Sun Dance The Sun Dance is a ceremony practiced by some Native Americans in the United States and Indigenous peoples in Canada, primarily those of the Plains cultures. It usually involves the community gathering together to pray for healing. Individuals ...

cultures, such as the

Crow A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not pinned scientifical ...

. The eagle-bone whistle is also used by the Lakota people in certain ceremonies,Gannon, Thomas C. (2009). ''Skylark Meets Meadowlark: Reimagining the Bird in British Romantic and Contemporary Native American Literature'', p.227. University of Nebraska. . "For their use in the Sun Dance, see Standing Bear, ''My People'' 114; Fire and Erdoes 198, 206, 210. ... Momaday mentions the use of the eagle bone whistle in a Kiowa ceremony (''Way'' 39)", p.363, n.40. such as some Sun Dances.

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

Ute Ute or UTE may refer to: * Ute (band), an Australian jazz group * Ute (given name) * ''Ute'' (sponge), a sponge genus * Ute (vehicle), an Australian and New Zealand term for certain utility vehicles * Ute, Iowa, a city in Monona County along ...

flutist The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with Reed (instrument), reeds, a fl ...

R. Carlos Nakai Raymond Carlos Nakai (born April 16, 1946) is a Native American flute, Native American flutist of Navajo people, Navajo and Ute people, Ute heritage. Nakai played brass instruments in high school and college, and auditioned for the Armed Forces ...

claims to use an "eagle-bone whistle" on multiple albums.

Federal law

Both the bald and golden eagle are protected by federal law: the

Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 (MBTA), codified at (although §709 is omitted), is a United States federal law, first enacted in 1918 to implement the convention for the protection of migratory birds between the United States and Canada . ...

(MBTA) prohibits the taking, killing, possession, transportation, and importation of migratory birds, their eggs, parts, and nests except as authorized under a valid permit as outlined at 50 CFR 21.11 The MBTA authorizes and directs the Secretary of the Interior to determine if, and by what means, the hunting of migratory birds should be allowed, as well as to adopt and implement suitable regulations permitting and governing the hunting of any type of migratory bird (for example, hunting seasons for ducks and geese). The

Eagle feather law In the United States, the eagle feather law provides many exceptions to federal wildlife laws regarding eagles and other migratory birds to enable Native Americans to continue their traditional, spiritual and cultural practices. Under the cu ...

is another name for the exemptions to this act that are sometimes granted to enrolled members of federally recognized Native American tribes. Penalties under the MBTA include a maximum of two years imprisonment and $250,000 fine for a felony conviction and six months imprisonment or $5,000 fine for a misdemeanor conviction.Drone pilot buzzed Bald Eagle's Nest
Capital Gazette. Selene Felice. 25 April 2018. Retrieved: 17 May 2018 Fines double if the violator is an organization rather than an individual. These laws would also apply to the collection and use of eagle bone whistles.

References

{{Whistles Birds in religion Native American Church Religious objects Whistles Eagles Bone products

Use

Federal law

See also

References