Alaska's Birds of Prey Historical and Contemporary Perspectives by Karen Lew

To the ancient Egyptians, vultures and falcons were deities and were believed to possess magical properties. For example, vulture charms were carried by Egyptians to protect against scorpion bites.

Golden eagles were the symbol of the power and valor of the Roman Empire, and their likeness appeared on many Roman objects. The Incas of Peru believed that the Andean condor was a messenger to the gods. Even today, non-literate people of the Amazon use hawk feathers on their arrows in the belief that this will speed the arrow to its mark just as the woodland hawk swiftly pursues its prey.

An owl—symbol of Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom—appeared on the coin of Athens. In the legends of King Arthur, it is an owl that perches on the shoulder of the wise magician Merlin. Not only is the merlin also a bird of prey, the image of the “wise old owl” continues today.

Falconry, the sport of hunting with trained falcons or hawks, is an ancient art. Asian people probably bred falcons to aid in capturing food as early as 2000 B.C. By A.D. 500, falconry was spreading into Europe, its popularity peaking in the Middle Ages. The type of bird flown by the falconer depended on the individual's class in society; the fastest, most powerful raptors (birds of prey) were used exclusively by nobility, and kings spent large sums of money on first-class birds.

In the early 1900s, falconry—as a sport—reached the United States, where it is still enjoyed by a small but enthusiastic group of people. Falconry is now regulated in the same manner as other forms of hunting: laws govern the numbers and species of birds taken from the wild, when and how they may be taken, and who may possess them.

All birds of prey—hawks, falcons, eagles, and owls—are protected by federal regulations, and it is unlawful to possess any raptor (dead or alive) or any portion of one, including its feathers and talons. However, the traditional and continuing subsistence use of snowy owls in Alaska is recognized; federal and state regulations allow these raptors or their eggs to be taken for food or their skins for clothing. There is no closed season and no bag limit on snowy owls, when they are used for food or clothing, in five of Alaska's game management units in southwestern, western, and arctic Alaska.

Further, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service—which has management authority for birds of prey—has established a national “feather bank” in Denver, Colorado wherein eagle feathers are deposited. Feathers are distributed by the federal government to Native Americans—including Alaska Natives—who may request their use for religious or cultural ceremonies.

In Alaska, birds of prey historically played a significant part in the lives of Natives throughout the state. Perhaps the most widely known part played by raptors in Native life is that of the eagle in the culture of the Tlingit Indians of southeastern Alaska. Birds are of great importance in Tlingit legends; after all, the Creator (Raven) was a bird, and—according to Tlingit prehistory—people come from birds. The two moieties, or sides, of the Tlingit peoples are the Raven and the Eagle (in southern portions of Tlingit territory) or the Wolf (the Eagle's equivalent in the northern portion of Tlingit territory, near Yakutat). The Eagle also serves as symbol for a number of clans within each moiety.

The bald eagle is also a crest (a symbol that can be physically portrayed, as on a house or totem pole) of the Wolf moiety among the northern Tlingits. The golden eagle, which became a clan totemic crest, is not as common in Tlingit culture. At Yakutat, the golden eagle is a Wolf-Eagle moiety emblem, whereas it is used as a crest on the Raven side among the southern Tlingit. The American eagle, first made known to the Tlingit via naval insignia, was interpreted as a crest, thus permitting the fiction that Americans belonged to the Eagle moiety. This explains why some Tlingits of Sitka could adopt the Navy as brothers, which they did at a potlatch. Of course, there are strong taboos against injuring or killing a bird of ones clan or moiety.

Birds of prey are also found in Native oral histories. According to Tlingit tradition, it was the goshawk who is said to have procured fire for the people. A number of raptors traditionally have been sought for their feathers, eggs, and flesh, while others are believed to foretell the future or report bad news. A snowy owl in the vicinity of Yakutat in spring 1964 was said to be “telling bad news” [of the Good Friday earthquake in southcentral Alaska]. The western screech-owl, a rare visitor to Alaska, is believed to have been once a woman who was mean to her mother-in-law. The owl is also a clan symbol among the Tlingit.

Owls and eagles also were “spirits” (yeks) of shamans (medicine men) in Tlingit culture. A shaman cut the tongues of animals and birds during his noviciate in order to gain necessary powers. Parts of the yek's body were kept as an amulet, and the most important part of the shaman's equipment was the bundle containing the tongues of the creatures he had killed. The yek, in the shape of the eagle or the owl, was also represented on a shaman's mask, while eagle feathers or eagle down were used in his headdress.

Owls were terrifying creatures to the Tlingit—and most other Alaska Indians. Children were taught that, if they cried too much, an owl would take them away. Adults believed owls talked and told bad news; they never came to tell about good luck, only to warn of misfortune. For example, when one clan from Dry Bay was invited to a potlatch at Yakutat in the early 1900s, the owls prophesied that the Dry Bay people were all going to die. And, as a former resident put it, “There's nobody there now.”

For many of the Athapaskan Indians, owls are the predatory birds that demand the most attention from mankind. Owls have a special power of foreknowledge and prophecy, an often frightening gift manifested in their ability to foretell or influence future events.

To the Koyukon Athapaskans, the preeminent sage among the owls is the great horned owl. Sometimes the Koyukon hunt this owl for its excellent-tasting meat. However, only the older people are allowed to eat them, because the birds' slowness would affect the young or their future children. The Koyukon also used the owl as a bugbear with which to threaten children in order to make them comply with the wishes of their elders.

The most terrifying words the owl can say are “Soon you will cry,” meaning that someone close to you will die. Once, people heard an owl clearly say (in Koyukon, of course), “Black bears will cry.” For the next two seasons, berry crops failed, and bears had a hard time surviving. To these Indians, an owl can also bring good tidings. For instance, it may call, “You will eat the belly of something,” foretelling the hunter's good luck ahead.

Koyukon people respect and admire hawks as fellow hunters. In former times, they gave hawk feet to young boys who wore them as amulets so they would acquire the hawks' predatory skills. The Koyukon name for the goshawk is “Yoda,” which means “flies high.” Koyukon consider the osprey a miser because it can hold slippery fish as it flies, clutching its possessions and refusing to part with them.

Like hawks, eagles receive less attention from the Athapaskans than do owls. They also are of less concern among these Indians than they are among the Tlingit. Although eagles are not eaten or used, there is no taboo on killing them should someone have a reason.

A diurnal (active during the day) owl that has a hawk-like posture is the northern hawk-owl. The Koyukon consider these birds good eating, although they probably are not hunted today. Elders say that if a hunter kills one, the bird will be reincarnated and return to the same person to be killed another time. The only problem with this is that the hawk-owl also give signs to hunters by the direction in which it flies overhead. If one catches up to a hunter on the trail and flies on past, there will be good luck in hunting. However, if it flies across the hunter's trail or toward him, it forecasts a poor hunt. Therefore, when the hunter kills the owl and it is reincarnated to return to him, it may then fly toward him—a sign of bad luck.

Hawk-owls are well regarded by Athapaskans because of their cleanliness and the ease with which they kill their prey. The bird is a kind of living amulet, and if raised around children, they will acquire some of its traits.

But snowy owls are considered the best tasting raptors. Again, only old people were allowed to eat them as they are clumsy birds, a trait one would not wish to have inflicted on ones children. These owls are still hunted and eaten by Yupik Eskimos in the western part of the state, in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta area, and on the North Slope. In fact, the Inupiaq name for the community of Barrow means the “hunting snowy owls place.”

According to surveys being taken by Bob Wolfe, subsistence researcher for the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, Eskimos living along the northern part of the Kuskokwim River say they would never eat owl, although the people upriver say “people downriver eat them.” Of course, this may be a case of personal taste, although the reason a Sleetmute man said he would not eat the bird was that “owls eat mice.”

In Quinhagak, it is taboo to eat snowy owl eggs. There the people consider it bad luck to eat the eggs, whereas other Eskimos do eat the eggs as well as the flesh of the snowy owl. According to Bob Wolfe, “some people do use snowy owls and some don't.” He said there is an elaborate taboo system involved, although generally there are more taboos relating to foods with Indians than there are with Eskimos.

Snowy owls are also used contemporarily for craft items. Both their feathers and their feet are used, and they can be seen displayed on the walls of Eskimo homes in western Alaska.

Whether used for food or clothing or as an integral part of cultural tradition and beliefs, raptors in Alaska have amassed a considerable reputation. Alaska's human residents are fortunate to have within their wildlife community these birds of prey—the splendid soaring eagles, hawks, and falcons, and the mysterious and awe-inspiring owls.