WHITEROCKS, Uintah County — A Whiterocks family is crying foul after their prayer feathers were taken from their car by a Ute Tribe Fish and Game officer. The confiscated feathers come from an eagle and are used for religious purposes, according to their owner.

Because it's illegal to possess feathers from the protected bird, the conflict pits federal law against freedom of religion.

"It was correct to take them because only members of federally recognized tribes can have them," said Karen Corts, acting director of Ute Tribe Fish and Game. Even then, possession of eagle feathers is only legal if the tribal member holds a special permit.

Terresa Gardner isn't a tribal member and doesn't have the required permit, but she and her family maintain that eagle feathers are an integral part of their religious beliefs. The two small feathers were given to Terresa and her husband, Roger, by her father-in-law, Darrell Gardner, to serve as protection.

"We hang them in our vehicle because we have been having a lot of trouble up in our area with gang activity, and he blessed them and blessed the vehicle," said one family member. "We have got to protect ourselves, and he looks towards the Creator to protect his grandson and his wife."

The eagle feathers had hung from the rear view mirror of Terresa's car without consequence for some time — until last month. That's when they drew the attention of the tribal Fish and Game officer who was investigating a traffic accident in Whiterocks in which Terresa's Chevy Cavalier had been broadsided.

Terresa's father, Barry Atkins, of Whiterocks was standing by her car when Ute Tribe Fish and Game officer Lee Allen Blackhair reached in and removed the feathers.

"He said she could not display the feathers because she is not an enrolled tribal member," said Atkins. "He said those were from an endangered bird . . . on the reservation that was a federally recognized bird."

But Terresa Gardner said she wasn't cited and now can't even find out what happened to the eagle feathers that were taken by Blackhair, who did not return calls for comment. Everett Manning, director of Fish and Game for the Ute Tribe, was away and unavailable for comment but had reportedly told a member of Gardner's family earlier that he had never seen the feathers.

However, Corts said a formal complaint may be in the works.

"What they may be doing is determining what action they will take at what point," said Corts.

Not only does the confiscation raise questions for Terresa Gardner about what happened to the eagle feathers but again brings up the issue of whether the feathers are legal for religious purposes.

Darrell Gardner, who calls himself a "mixed-blood," said that although he is not enrolled in a federally recognized tribe, the U.S. Justice Department contracted with him for 15 years to conduct religious services in sweat lodges in state prisons in Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Texas and Canada. Based on religious grounds, Gardner had permission to possess and use eagle feathers in sweat lodges that were often frequented by inmates who were not federally recognized as "Indians."