Native americans would kill eagles just for their feathers.
Okay, if you say so. May have just been some dusty old nickel western I read, but I recall something about climbing the cliffs to their nests to retrieve the feathers. We are probably both inaccurate. Anyhow, different time different culture.
(http://www.warpaths2peacepipes.com/images/american-bald-eagle.jpg)
The Meaning of Feathers
The generalised meaning of feathers signified honor & connected the owner with the Creator and the bird the feathers came from. Native Indian warriors were awarded a feather when they took coup or were particularly brave in battle. When a feather falls to earth, the Native Americans believe it carries all of the energy of its former attachment on a bird to a living being. Feathers are perceived as gifts from the sky, the sea and the trees. Feathers arrive unexpectedly, but not without purpose.
It doesn't explicitedly say how they were obtained here http://www.warpaths2peacepipes.com/native-american-culture/meaning-of-feathers.htm (http://www.warpaths2peacepipes.com/native-american-culture/meaning-of-feathers.htm) but the highlighted text above suggest something different from what we both thought. That is not to say they were not hunted by any Native Americans, with such diversity in cultures.