Aztec dancers sue CBP for seizing traditional feathers at California border

A group of Indigenous Aztec dancers is suing the federal government for confiscating hundreds of traditional ceremonial feathers as they were crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. 

In March, CBP agents seized over 1,500 feathers that were being transported by the Los-Angeles based dancer group Danza Azteca Tenochtitlan. The group typically wears the feathers during its traditional performances, and cultural and religious practices at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Diego. 

Danza Azteca Tenochtitlan filed a claim accusing the U.S. Department of the Interior of violating their constitutional right to practice religion.

They are seeking $1 million in compensation per person and are requesting that their feathers be returned, many of which have been passed down for many generations. 

“Some of the things the community enjoys are our feathers and traditional wear,” Ruby Marek, one of the dancers, told Noticias Telemundo Los Angeles. “It’s a way for us to build recognition that we’re proud and that this is a land of immigrants, but they want to clip our wings.” 

The dancer group is mostly made up of Marek’s family and kids. Marek had picked up her brother-in-law from the Tijuana airport and was headed back to Los Angeles to perform at the annual Mexica New Year Celebration in San Jose, California.

The lawsuit says that when the group crossed the U.S.-Mexico border, her vehicle was surrounded by agents. 

"Embracing your own culture, embracing your own identity, that it's wrong," Marek said. "I was treated like ... [the] cartel.”

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, those traveling with feathers must first obtain a permit, with exemptions for Native Americans.

The feathers confiscated by officials came from “parrots, pheasants, ducks, doves, macaws, ravens, turkeys, emus, and hawks,” the Los Angeles Times reported. 

"Not at any time did they ask them were there for religious purposes and the other thing is that these feathers were coming from Mexico, where Native American religious practices are respected," said attorney Jaime Gutierrez, who was hired to represent the group.