The eagle has landed

[Doug Kerr]

Today Carla and I went into Fort Worth to have lunch with noted American Indian sculptor Gordon Tonips and his wife Tomazane (Tommye). A major objective was to take delivery of one of Gordon's wonderful stone sculptures. We had committed to it some months ago, but it just came off the "exhibition circuit". It is stunning, and I'll cover it here soon.

But in a surprising plus, Gordon gave Carla two beautiful bald eagle feathers from his own personal collection. Tommye had known that Carla really wanted one to put in the band of one of her favorite hats (the one I call "Indian Joe", seen just below). Tommye had also learned that Carla would be dancing the Kiowa Butterfly Dance (a fancy shawl dance) in an upcoming event (Carla is a contestant in the 2011 Ms. Senior Parker County pageant, and that will be her talent event) and felt that her Cherokee shawl deserved its own feather.

Douglas A. Kerr: Carla receives two eagle feathers.
L-R: Carla, Gordon Tonips, Tomazane Tonips​

Bald eagle and golden eagle feathers are surrounded by a wealth of both administrative and customary considerations. It is illegal in the U.S. for anyone other than an enrolled member of a recognized American Indian tribe to possess a bald eagle or golden eagle feather. Carla is of course a card-carryin' Cherokee.

Ownership of an eagle feather carries heavy responsibility for their proper use and care. Among other things, they should not be touched at night unless in connection with their use in a sanctioned tribal event.

Ownership of an eagle feather is said to confer great power(s) on the owner. This owner is already of legendary potency, but a little more never hurts.

Best regards,

Doug

 

[Doug Kerr]

Here we see the two bald eagle feathers, finished, one in place on Carla's "Indian Joe" hat and one on her dance shawl.

Douglas A Kerr: Two feathers​

The "fluffs" on the two feathers are actually from golden eagle feathers. The quills are now wrapped with rawhide strips, following a traditional scheme. One feather is equipped with a swivel hook for attachment to a ring on the shawl.

These birds come from a federal eagle repository near Denver, where eagles that die in zoos or are found dead in the wild are preserved pending acquisition.

It took Gordon Tonips, the original owner of the bird from which the feathers came, over four years to have his bird allocated and the receive the license to own it. The fluffs came from a second entire bird (golden eagle) that he subsequently acquired to complete the fledgling of his formal dance regalia.

Subsequent transfer of individual feathers must be registered.

These are not something that just anyone can, or may, own. Carla's investiture with these feathers from an eminent artist is in recognition of her emerging stature within the Cherokee community.

The shawl itself is interesting. Its prime color is red, but rather than it being paired with black (red and black are the colors of the Cherokee Nation), its underside is purple, Carla's signature color.

The printed band at the bottom depicts wolves, in honor of Carla's ancestry through the Wolf Clan of the Cherokee. The wolves are depicted as if at night in the wood. In the location of each eye she has sewn a small Swarovski crystal.

Completing the hyperethnicity at Saturday's Ms. Senior Parker County pageant, Carla's escort (moi) will be wearing the kilt, in a full-blown formal Prince Charlie configuration. (The mode infra will, however, not be commando.)

In recognition of current security sensitivities, the sgian dubh I will wear (a small dirk-like knife worn in a scabbard tucked into the sock top on the right-hand side) will be a dummy - it has no blade, and the handle and scabbard are sealed together.

Based on the convention of inoperable guns being flagged with an orange tip on the barrel, we had this sgian dubh made with an orange jewel in the butt of the handle (my real sgian dubh has a red jewel).

Interestingly enough, Carla's pageant sponsor firm, a local healthcare provider, is headed by a woman named Carla, also a card carryin' Cherokee (9/128 Cherokee ancestry, in fact).

Best regards,

Doug