Millions of Gifts for the Gods

The Feather Distribution Project

Jonathan Reyman

• Publisher: University Press of Colorado
• Year: 2026
• Print ISBN:
  9781646427765
  9781646427536
• eBook ISBN:
  9781646427543
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Cultural & Social Anthropology
• Index: Social Sciences

In Millions of Gifts for the Gods, Jonathan E. Reyman chronicles a remarkable thirty-four-year applied anthropology initiative that bridged ancient traditions with contemporary conservation challenges. From 1982 to 2015 the Feather Distribution Project addressed the critical need for macaw, parrot, and wild turkey feathers essential to Pueblo religious practices, directly supporting their constitutional right to freedom of religion.

Grounded in Sol Tax's concept of "action anthropology," the project facilitated community-driven decision-making rather than imposing external solutions. This collaborative approach enabled Indigenous communities to maintain cultural practices that have persisted for over a millennium, dating back to the Ancestral Pueblo people and the Mogollon and Sinagua tribes, who viewed birds as sacred beings that helped humans emerge from the underworld. Yet the project's impact extended far beyond cultural preservation. Over three decades, it distributed approximately 14.5 million feathers, valued at $20 million, to the Southwest Pueblos and other Indigenous Americans at no cost to them. Through partnerships with turkey hunters, zoos, bird clubs, the National Wild Turkey Federation, and dozens of volunteers, the initiative reduced illegal bird smuggling from Latin America, alleviated pressure on threatened bird populations, and eliminated harmful plucking practices.

Millions of Gifts for the Gods is an extended case study in applied anthropology, demonstrating how sustained collaboration between anthropologists and Indigenous communities can effectively address complex cultural, legal, and environmental challenges while preserving sacred traditions. This unique project is of special interest to anthropologists working in the American Southwest, as well as students and scholars of archaeology, ethnography, and ethnohistory.
 

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Introduction
• 1. The Archaeological Context
• 2. The Ethnographic and Ethnohistoric Context
• 3. The Genesis of the Feather Distribution Project
• 4. The Peoples Served
• 5. The Operation of the Feather Distribution Project
• 6. The End of the Feather Distribution Project
• Acknowledgments
• Appendix A: Proposal for an All-Pueblo Macaw and Parrot Sanctuary
• Appendix B: Proposal for an All-Pueblo Wild and Domestic Turkey Facility
• Appendix C: Birds Protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (Updated 2018)
• Appendix D: Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
• Notes
• References
• Index
• About the Author