Many Native Americans are marking ceremonies like graduations with bald eagle feathers, a form of reverence for the bird they have always held sacred as a messenger to the Creator. But this year, some are doing so with special pride after the bald eagle finally became the official U.S. bird. That’s especially true for a group of Mdewakanton Sioux along the banks of the Mississippi River in Minnesota, where the push for the national recognition originated. Jim Thunder Hawk, who leads the Dakota culture and language manager for the Prairie Island Indian Community, says he is thrilled to see the eagle finally get the respect it deserves.
