Native American powwow celebrates historic eagle feathers agreement Pastor Soto and 400 Native Americans now free to use feathers for worship

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This evening, Pastor Robert Soto of the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas and his congregation will hold a powwow celebrating a historic agreement with the federal government on the right to use eagle feathers for religious worship. Called a “victory for religious freedom” in today’s Wall Street Journal, the agreement will be signed as part of the powwow celebrations and ends a decade-long legal battle. As part of the agreement the federal government admits it was wrong to seize eagle feathers from Pastor Soto and his congregation in an undercover raid in 2006 and also recognizes the right of Pastor Soto and 400 other Native Americans to freely use eagle feathers for Native American worship.

What:
Historic eagle feather settlement
Powwow celebration

Who:
Pastor Robert Soto, Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas

When:
Monday, June 13, 2016 at 6:30 p.m. CST

Where:
St. Marks Methodist Church, 301 Pecan Ave., McAllen, Texas

For more information or to arrange an interview with a Becket attorney, please contact Melinda Skea at [email protected] or 202-349-7224. Interviews can be arranged in English, Chinese, French, German, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

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Becket is a non-profit, public-interest law firm dedicated to protecting the free expression of all religious traditions. For over 20 years, it has defended clients of all faiths, including Buddhists, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Native Americans, Sikhs, and Zoroastrians.