It was a beautiful morning for worship. As a spiritual leader for my tribe, the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas, I wore my traditional clothing and eagle feathers and we led the procession into the sacred circle, as my people have worshiped for generations. Like other Native Americans, we believe that eagles have a special connection to the Creator and so we use feathers in our religious worship.

Without warning, our pow-wow was raided by an undercover federal agent. He stopped our ceremony and violated our sacred circle. Children were crying and running to hide. He confiscated my feathers, which had been handed down over generations, and threatened me with criminal prosecution, fines, and imprisonment.