Cowlitz Country News - Archives - Yakama Indian Nation
  On-line since 2011 - Updated January 2, 2014
   About Us  | Backlash.com  | Unofficial Cowlitz Calendar  | 

Welcome to Cowlitz Country
Pacific Northwest Tribes
  Burns Paiute
  Chehalis
  Chinook
  Coeur D'Alene
  Colville
  Coos, Lower Umpqua, Siuslaw
  Coquille
  Cow Creek Umpqua
  Cowlitz
  Duwamish
  Grand Ronde
  Hoh
  Jamestown S'Klallam
  Kalispel
  Klamath
  Lower Elwha Klallam
  Lummi
  Makah
  Muckleshoot
  Nez Perce
  Nisqually
  Nooksack
  Port Gamble S'Klallam
  Puyallup
  Quileute
  Quinault
  Samish
  Sauk Suiattle
  Shoalwater Bay
  Siletz
  Skokomish
  Snohomish
  Snoqualmie
  Spokane
  Sqauxin Island
  Stillaguamish
  Sto:lo
  Suquamish
  Swinomish
  Tulalip
  Umatilla
  Upper Skagit
  Warm Springs
  Yakama
  Yurok
 

January 2014

Yakama: State, Tribe Forge '75/25 Agreement' - The Washington State Department of Licensing (DOL) and the Yakama Nation recently settled a longstanding dispute about how to collect fuel taxes on fuel sold at gas stations owned by members of the Yakama Nation.

Yakama: Yakama Nation and state reach sensible accord on fuel taxes - The state of Washington and the Yakama Nation have agreed on a new and improved way to collect fuel taxes at gas stations on the reservation. It’s actually an old/new system — one that’s in place with 18 other tribal governments in the state but new to the Yakamas — and the state’s history with it enhances the prospect that it will be more fair to the governments, gas station operators and consumers.

Yakama: Treaty Doesn't Excuse Tobacco Co.'s $60M Tax Debt, US Says - Without a specific written tax exemption, a 19th-century treaty does not spare Native American cigarette producer King Mountain Tobacco Co. Inc. from $60 million in excise tax debt, the U.S. government told a Washington federal court Monday. Arguing in support of its summary judgment motion, the U.S. government fired back at King Mountain's claims that an 1885 treaty with the Yakama Nation tribe promised economic advantages in exchange for millions of acres of land, arguing economic advantages were not defined in the treaty and that all cigarette manufacturing is taxable under U.S. law.

Yakama: Portrait of Yakama Indian Lokout adds to history of brother Qualchan - A recently made identification reveals that the 1910 Curtis field photo immortalized the man also known as the Yakama warrior Lokout, who outlived his doomed brother Qualchan by 56 years.

Yakama: Win in $97 Million Historic Land Mega-Deal - It took three years and $97 million, but the largest land purchase in Washington State history to benefit resource and conservation management has just been finalized, and the Yakama Nation was instrumental in its orchestration.


December 2013

Yakama: Tribal school runner allowed to compete at district - Tim Celestine, a Yakama Tribal School cross-country runner, will compete on the varsity team in Saturday’s district meet in Wenatchee, according to officials at the Toppenish school.

Yakama: Yakama Nation Won't Recognize Wash. State's New Pot Law - The Yakama Nation has decided that despite the wish of state residents in voting to allow for marijuana use, they will not allow cannabis to be consumed or grown on the reservation.

Yakama: Why the Yakama Nation opposes state’s ‘legal’ marijuana on its land - When it comes to marijuana, legal or otherwise, the Yakama Nation in central Washington says it wants no part of it.


October 2013

Yakama: New Yakama Nation Museum exhibit filled with history - They were woven into the fabric of their lives. Used for storage, carrying belongings, preserving food, they are at once utilitarian and beautiful. And works of art. Now the Yakama Nation Museum is sharing them. This summer, museum staff filled two display cases with Columbia Plateau Indian baskets and bags to illustrate the ancient art of weaving.

Yakama: Yakamas join opposition to coal-transport proposals - On a chilly Sunday morning, about a hundred members of the Yakama Nation gathered to bless a totem pole symbolizing tribal opposition to coal-transport projects proposed for the Northwest.

Yakama: Water problem needs local and national solution by BIA - The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs is maintaining its record of poor stewardship of tribal-related resources with its handling of the Wapato Irrigation Project. BIA administrators this week traveled from Portland to hold a meeting in Toppenish to discuss damage claims by farmers who depend on the project’s water.

Yakama: Fired After Improving Native School: Unsung Educator Deserves Better - After I wrote the last column about people who improved Indian school and got fired, I heard from some others who had the same thing happen to them. One of them was my good friend Don DeVon. After Don took the high school at White Swan, Washington to great heights, he was asked to leave.

Yakama: Delicate balance exists in Horse Nation - While those Native American plaintiffs speak of horses as spirit beings and warn of tragic consequences if they are mistreated, the Yakama Nation of Washington is on the other side of the case, arguing that feral horses are destroying its reservation and that horse slaughter is its best option to reducing its herd and saving its land.


August 2013

Yakama: Tribal member claims Toppenish officers unjustly beat him - A 33-year-old Yakama tribal member has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the city of Toppenish, alleging he was unjustly beaten by two Toppenish police officers during a traffic stop last fall. In the lawsuit, filed last month in U.S. District Court in Yakima, Marlon Delanie Wahsise says he was stopped by police on Sept. 8 on suspicion of drunken driving. He alleges that without provocation, a police officer kneed him twice in the abdomen, then wrestled him to the ground with the help of another officer.

Yakama: Yakama Warriors: A tribute to veterans - Veterans associations share a common purpose: to support and honor military veterans. But few do so with as much color and tradition as the Yakama Warriors Association.

Yakama: Yakamas add 9,600 acres of forest land - The Yakama Nation last week finalized the purchase of nearly 10,000 acres of forest land from private owners within the Tract-C area of the Yakama Reservation. The 9,600-acre sale is part of the tribe’s long-standing policy to acquire lands within the reservation. The Tract-C lands all lie either adjacent to or within the reservation itself.

Yakama: Documentary film on well pollution planned, but funds lacking - A documentary about groundwater contamination and a connection to the dairy industry will be filmed on the Yakama Indian Reservation this fall featuring the voices and faces of residents living near large animal feeding operations such as dairies.

Yakama: Man Sentenced to 37 Months for Assault on Yakama Reservation - A 21-year-old man has been sentenced to 37 months in federal prison for an assault on the Yakama Reservation. Jerrel Lee Charles pleaded guilty to assault resulting in serious bodily injury in March 2013.

Yakama: Yakima County sheriff, tribe sign first-of-its-kind arrest agreement - Ending decades of dispute, the Yakama Nation and the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office have agreed to procedures that deputies should follow when entering tribal land to execute arrest warrants against tribal members. According to a memorandum signed by tribal and county officials, deputies must contact tribal police before executing warrants on tribal members on tribal land, and be willing to allow a tribal police officer to be present during the arrest.

Colville-Yakama: Colvilles say Yakama fish project interferes in their territory - A letter from the Colville Tribes “vigorously” opposing a plan by the Yakama Nation to build an acclimation pond for coho north of Winthrop puts a new twist in salmon recovery in the region. The comment from the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation was one of less than a dozen others submitted by residents and Okanogan County Commissioners on an environmental analysis of the proposal to build a one-third acre pond to hold young coho before releasing them into the adjacent Chewuch River.


June 2013

Muckleshoot-Yakama: Enumclaw woman competes at Miss Indian World pageant - Enumclaw resident Jolene Lozier joined 16 other Native American women who competed for the title of Miss Indian World 2013. The Miss Indian World Pageant is a part of the Gathering of Nations, the largest powwow in North America. People from different indigenous nations throughout North America gathered at the University of New Mexico’s University Arena – also known as “The Pit” – in Albuquerque April 25 to 27. Lozier, 25, is a member of the Muckleshoot and Yakama tribes.

Nez Perce-Yakama: Chief Joseph Mural Being Created at Chief Joseph School - Joe Galati, principal at Chief Joseph School in North Portland, used money the school had received from the Portland Public Schools Equity Fund, to hire Toma Villa, 35, a Native American artist from the Yakama tribe, to paint a large mural of Chief Joseph on the side of one of the school buildings.

Yakama: Toppenish casino distributes community contributions - — The Yakima County Sheriff’s Office will be able to install audio and video equipment in 25 squad cars, thanks to a grant from Yakama Nation Legends Casino. The grant was part of nearly $800,000 the casino gave out this year to 163 different nonprofits and four local police and fire agencies.

Yakama: Tribe suit is settled - A federal lawsuit filed by an American Indian tribal government against the city of Martinsville and other defendants involved in a raid is being settled. In a unanimous vote, Martinsville City Council on Tuesday night adopted a resolution accepting a settlement agreement with the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, a tribal government in Washington state.

Yakama: EPA issues order to protect Yakama Nation drinking water - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10, has ordered two gas stations to close their underground injection wells to protect drinking water on the Yakama Indian Reservation in Washington.

Yakama: Turning back the clock on the Klickitat River - Columbia Land Trust leads restoration effort to get rid of old haul road along river, open historic floodplain.

Yakama: Tribal school senior perseveres to forge a good life - Gage Andy knows what it means to be a self-starter. Every morning the 17-year-old wakes up at the Yakama Nation’s youth substance abuse treatment center — where he’s lived the past two years — and goes to school.

Yakama: Lamprey returned to Yakima River basin - After being largely absent for nearly a half-century, an old friend of the Yakamas — the Pacific lamprey — is being reintroduced to its home waters in the Yakima River basin.


May 2013

Muckleshoot-Yakama: Enumclaw's Jolene Lozier competing for Miss Indian World 2013 - Enumclaw resident Jolene Lozier joined 16 other Native American women who competed for the title of Miss Indian World 2013. The Miss Indian World Pageant is a part of the Gathering of Nations, the largest powwow in North America. People from different indigenous nations throughout North America will gather at the University of New Mexico's University Arena – also known as "The Pit" – in Albuquerque April 25 to 27. Lozier, 25, is a member of the Muckleshoot and Yakama tribes.

Colville-Yakama: Horse slaughter debate draws strong opinions - Yakima Nation Chairman Harry Smiskin recently wrote to President Obama and Secretary Vilsack about the need to resume horse slaughter in the United States. While noting that, “no other president has done more to include Indian tribes in his priorities,” he expressed “serious disappointment” with recent statements coming from representatives of the Agriculture Department on the issue of horse slaughter and the processing of horse meat.

Yakama: Protesters call for answers on tribal spending, settlement - Nearly 30 Yakama tribal members lined Fort Road outside of the Yakama agency Monday morning, waving signs calling for an accounting of tribal spending and the ouster of the 14-member Tribal Council.

Yakama: Yakamas Protest Tribal Council - About 30 people line up outside the Yakama Nation Agency in Toppenish this morning to protest against the Tribal Council. People waved signs that read "we want answers," and "impeach Tribal Council."

Yakama: Federal court rules against Yakama tobacco company - A federal judge has ruled that a tobacco manufacturer owned by a Yakama Nation tribal member must pay into an escrow account established under a 1998 settlement with big tobacco companies.

Yakama: National nuclear waste board hears local Hanford concerns - The vitrification plant will not address all of Hanford's high-level radioactive waste, including waste that has leaked from tanks, officials told the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board on Tuesday. Russell Jim, representing the Yakama Nation, which has treaty rights at Hanford, said the tribe has not agreed that high-level radioactive waste can be reclassified as low-activity waste.

Yakama: Tribe Critical Of Proposed Ban On Horse Slaughtering - Washington’s Yakama Nation Indian tribe is asking the federal government to explain its position against slaughtering horses in the United States.

Yakama: Court shoots down Yakama tobacco company lawsuit - A tobacco company owned by a Yakama Nation tribal member must pay into an escrow account established under a 1998 settlement with big tobacco companies, a federal judge has ruled.

Yakama: Member to help lead national impact aid group - Henry Strom knows first-hand how vital federal funds are to school districts situated within property-tax poor Indian reservations. A Yakama tribal member, he grew up on the reservation and attended schools heavily reliant on federal funding before becoming superintendent of the 945-student Mt. Adams School District. Now, the National Association of Federally Impacted Schools has tapped the 49-year-old superintendent as one of its two at-large directors.


April 2013

Cowlitz-Yakama: Mount St. Helens sought for inclusion on National Register of Historic Places - Mount St. Helens was recently the subject of a petition by the Governor’s Advisory Council on Historic Preservation to be included on the National Register of Historic Places. The council voted unanimously to nominate Lawetlat’la (a traditional name for the mountain) as a traditional cultural property of significance to the Cowlitz Indian Tribe and Yakama Nation.

Yakama: Eleanora Hoptowit Plumlee - Eleanora “Nora” Hoptowit Plumlee, 87, of Toppenish died Saturday. Mrs. Hoptowit Plumlee was born in Seattle. She worked with the Klamath Indian Reservation as a wildland firefighter; Yakama Nation Branch of Forestry, Fire Management Program and at Mill Creek Guard Station. She also worked at the Yakama Nation Fire Dispatch Headquarters as an assistant fire dispatcher, retiring in 1996. Survivors include a son, Joseph Hoptowit.

Yakama: Climate factors into Columbia River Treaty talks - When President Dwight Eisenhower signed the Columbia River Treaty with Canada as one of his last official acts in January 1961, the treaty created a massive system of dams for flood control and electricity for the Northwest, but Indian tribes are particularly unhappy, saying the dams made it impossible for salmon to navigate the river, once home to the largest salmon runs in the world. And they're upset that they weren't allowed to participate in the original treaty talks.


March 2013

Yakama: Nation, Roanoke County nearing accord - Roanoke County may be ready to make peace with the Yakama Nation. For nearly two years, the county has quietly been one of many defendants in a federal lawsuit for its role in a raid on an American Indian reservation in Washington state. A settlement could be reached in the coming weeks, according to attorneys familiar with the case.

Yakama: Nation Works to Develop Workforce - Thanks to some help from state and federal organizations, young Yakama Nation Tribal Members are learning some valuable career skills.

Yakama: Judge rules against Yakamas again in state fuel tax fight - A federal judge has delivered the Yakama Nation a second blow in its fight against the state over fuel taxes on the reservation. U.S. District Court Judge Lonny Suko has denied the tribe’s motion to block the state from scrapping a tax agreement that allowed tribal fuel station owners to buy bulk fuel mostly free of state taxes and to force both parties back into mediation.

Yakama: Reginald W. Tulee - Reginald W. Tulee, 83, was a member of the Yakama Nation and descendant of the Wishx`am Band. He was born on August 29, 1929 in an Indian Village near present day T’saililo, Oregon. He was the fourth of seven children.

Yakama: Tribal cigarette maker could face $30M tax bill - A Yakama tribal cigarette manufacturer could be on the hook for some $30 million in federal tobacco taxes under a recent federal court ruling.

Yakama: Petition seeks to oust tribal council over settlement - More than 2,700 Yakama tribal members have signed a petition calling for the ouster of the entire 14-member Tribal Council, claiming they’ve been kept in the dark over what they say is a multi-million dollar settlement between the tribe and the federal government.


February 2013

Yakama: Legends Casino accepting requests for charitable funding - Each year, the casino gives a share of its profits to local nonprofits, law enforcement and fire agencies for any effects operations may have on surrounding communities. Applications for the charitable fund will be accepted until March 31, and money will be disbursed to those selected in May.

Yakama: Tribal court doesn’t have jurisdiction over gas tax - A fight between the Yakama Nation and the state over a scrapped agreement that allowed the tribe to buy bulk fuel mostly free of state fuel taxes should be settled in federal court, a U.S. District Court judge has ruled. At stake is nearly $20 million in fuel taxes the state claims the tribe owes. The ruling not only established jurisdiction over the case, but also tossed out a previous Yakama Tribal Court ruling that blocked the state from canceling the agreement and enforcing state fuel tax laws on tribal land.

Yakama: Fishing rights activist, tribal judge dies at 83 - Alvin Settler was a river warrior, learned in the law, and became an integral part of maintaining local tribes’ right to continue fishing on the Columbia, friends of the former tribal judge say. Settler, a well-respected figure in the Yakama Nation, died Friday at age 83.


January 2013

Yakama: State takes fight over Yakama fuel tax to federal court - A fight between the Yakama Nation and the state over a scrapped agreement that allowed tribal gas station owners to buy bulk fuel mostly free of state fuel taxes is now in federal court.

Yakama: Calvin W. Charley - Calvin Wilson Charley, 59, of Wapato died Thursday in Yakima. Mr. Charley was born in Yakima and was a member of the Yakama Nation. He worked for the tribe as a chemical dependency professional.

Yakama: Gas pipeline damages historic site - The Yakama Nation has asked the federal government to halt construction of a natural gas pipeline across Southwest Washington’s White Salmon River, saying the project will impair an archaeological site that is culturally significant to the tribe.

Yakama: Year Of The River: Dam Removals In The Pacific NW - For decades, American Rivers has been working with its partners, including the Yakama Indian Nation, to remove the dam. And now that this goal has been accomplished it has restored access to 33 miles of habitat for steelhead and 14 miles of habitat for chinook salmon.

Yakama: Nation sues Wash. state over gas tax deal - The Yakama Nation has filed suit against the state of Washington for abandoning an agreement that allowed tribal gas station owners to buy bulk fuel largely free of state taxes for sale to tribal members. Tribal members are exempt from state fuel taxes, but the state requires tribes to keep accounts of sales to non-members. The state terminated the agreement Dec. 5, saying the Yakama Nation was not abiding by its audit requirements. The state’s decision to scrap the agreement requires fuel distributors to assess the state tax of 37.5 cents per gallon on all fuel delivered to tribal stations on the reservation. The tribe’s lawsuit attempts to block the state from assessing those taxes.

Yakama: N.Y. sues Wash. state company for selling untaxed smokes - The state attorney general's office is suing a Washington-based tobacco manufacturer, accusing it of illegally selling hundreds of thousands of cigarettes in New York each year without paying the required state excise taxes. The lawsuit against King Mountain Tobacco Company and its president, Delbert Wheeler, was filed Friday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a statement the company sells and distributes its cigarettes in New York without shipping them to a state licensed stamping agent as required by New York tax laws. King Mountain is Indian-owned and is located on the Yakama reservation in Washington.

Yakama: Valley farmers will wait and see on pot production - With a hot dry summer climate, Central Washington could be prime marijuana growing territory. In fact, it already is. Some of the largest pot seizures in state history have been made in Yakima County. But whether legitimate farmers can or will take advantage of the new state law legalizing the plant remains to be seen. In 2008, which may have been the high water mark for seizures on the reservation, the State Patrol reported that Yakama Tribal Police and a collaborative drug task force recovered more than 204,000 marijuana plants at more than two dozen grow sites. Note: According to Brian E. Smith, Communications Director of the Washington State Liquor Control Board, under I-502 industrial hemp is no longer classified as "marijuana." Under federal law, however, it is still illegal. On a recent episode of 20-20 President Obama told Barbara Walters that the issue should not be a "top priority" of federal law enforcement officers. Nonetheless, it would be extremely risky for tribes to defy federal law by attempting to cultivate industrial hemp.


December 2012

Yakama: Gas pipeline damages historic site - The Yakama Nation has asked the federal government to halt construction of a natural gas pipeline across southwest Washington's White Salmon River, saying the project will impair an archaeological site that is culturally significant to the tribe.

Yakama: Tribe asks feds to stop natural gas pipeline in southwest Washington - The Yakama Nation has asked the federal government to halt construction of a natural gas pipeline across southwest Washington's White Salmon River, saying the project will impair an archaeological site that is culturally significant to the tribe.

Yakama: Celebrating and supporting the return of the Cle Elum sockeye - Yakama Nation Tribal Council member Virgil Lewis writes about why it is important to restore the sockeye to Cle Elum Lake and Cle Elum River.

Yakama: Revving Up a Lost Art by Making Saddles the Old Way - Not many people still make the traditional saddles from scratch; in fact, HollyAnna CougarTracks DeCoteau Pinkham doesn’t know of anyone else making saddles the old way, but that’s her passion. Pinkham, who is enrolled Yakama but also has ancestral ties to the Nez Perce, Cayuse, Umatilla, Chippewa and Cree, was pretty much on her own when she set out to learn how to make saddles.


November 2012

Yakama: Former Yakama officials question tribe's spending - Two former Yakama Nation officials say they were fired for questioning how the tribe spends state and federal funds on social programs and whether some of the money was unfairly benefiting employees and their family members.

Yakama: Elder Talks About Kateri’s Canonization and What it Means to Native Catholics - Kateri’s blessings followed Lydia Johnson from Wapato, Washington to Rome. Johnson is believed to be the only Native American from the Yakima Diocese to witness the canonization of Kateri, who was credited with healing a Lummi Indian boy from a deadly flesh-eating disease in 2006.


October 2012

Yakama: Blessed Kateri Canonization Provides Hope for Yakama Elder - To Lydia Johnson, the upcoming canonization of a Kanienkehaka, or Mohawk, woman who lived in the 1600s is affirmation that God has always had a relationship with the First Peoples of this continent, has always recognized their spirituality and faith despite declarations from his European-American followers that so-called Indians were heathens. “She’s been an inspiration, somebody to look up to,” Johnson said of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha. “Because she’s American Indian, she’s somebody we can relate to. I’m sure she’s been praying for us all this time.”

Yakama: Sockeye begin returning to Cle Elum River after 100 years - Carcasses dot the banks of the Cle Elum River bank, signifying an end as well as a beginning. Here, some 18 miles northwest of Cle Elum, are the bodies of adult fish who completed the arduous, several-hundred-mile journey from the Pacific Ocean to reproduce and perish. More than a century after their runs up the Cle Elum River were wiped out by dams, the sockeye are spawning again. This is the fourth year of an effort to reintroduce this prized salmon species back into the Yakima River Basin. The Yakama Nation is overseeing the program, which collected Wenatchee and Okanogan sockeye salmon at Priest Rapids Dam about three months ago and trucked them to Lake Cle Elum for release.

Yakama: Under the Reservation Sky - Our government must seek to unleash the entrepreneurial potential of American Indians by incentivizing more risk-taking, free enterprise and capital accumulation within reservations. There is no substitute for free people earning success on their own merit, with their own creativity. Entrepreneurship is not antithetical to Indian cultures and history. With the hard work ethic passed on from one generation to another—more and more of the Yakama have already shown the way.

Yakama: Dan Iyall 1928 - 2012 - Dan Iyall was a member of the Yakama nation. He coached baseball, basketball, and football at four Washington state high schools, including: Oroville, Coulee City, Deer Park, and University High School from its' opening in 1963 till 1978. He was inducted into the Washington State High School Coach’s Hall of Fame in 1991.

Yakama: In Memory of Daniel Victor Iyall - Daniel V. Iyall born of Yakama Indian Nation January 8, 1928 in Olympia, WA and went to the Great Spirit on August 6, 2012 in Spokane, WA.

Yakama: Dan Iyall Endowment to Fund Native American Teacher Education Candidates - UW Teacher Education student Kirstie Williams has been named the inaugural Dan Iyall Fellow. The Iyall fellowship will fund William’s teacher education studies at the UW College of Education. The Dan Iyall Endowment was started by Cheryl Wright-Wilson (1969 College of Education) and Ray Wilson (1969 School of Pharmacy), longtime friends of the UW College of Education.

Yakama: Deadline set for large, rural subdivisions - Owners of large, rural lots in Kittitas County who’ve begun the process to subdivide them must complete work by Dec. 18 when the subdivision provision ends. Kittitas County commissioners recently set the deadline in connection with discussion with Yakama Indian Nation legal counsel who earlier this year brought a state land-use challenge against the provisions, technically called administrative segregations in county code.


September 2012

Yakama: Tribe to consider commerce department this week - Yakama tribal members will hold a special meeting Tuesday through Thursday to discuss establishing a new department of commerce to enforce business licensing requirements and collect fuel and tobacco taxes from tribal gas station owners.

Yakama: Tribe dedicates land for casino day care center - The first phase of a $90 million project to expand Legends Casino is expected to begin next week with the construction of a day care center for casino workers. On Friday, Yakama tribal leaders, members and casino workers and their children gathered at the site of the new day care center, just west of the casino near Robbins and Fort roads to bless the ground before construction begins on the 12,000-square-foot facility. Prayers were spoken and traditional songs were sung as a dozen children, clad in colorful regalia, danced to the beat of a deer-skin drum.

Yakama: Nation awards classic car to Selah woman - Charlotte Huston of Selah, WA drove away in a classic 1966 Ford Mustang Convertible Cobra tonight as part of a promotional give away by Legends Casino. Customers that qualify each month have the opportunity to come back to Legends on the last day of each month and draw a key that may start the car. In September, Legends Casino will give away a 1968 Chevy Camaro SS.

Yakama: Former longtime Yakama leader, Joe Jay Pinkham, devoted to his people - Former longtime Yakama Nation General Council secretary Joe Jay Pinkham will always be remembered as a generous, easy-going man who was dedicated to his people, family and friends said Tuesday. Pinkham, whose service as an elected tribal official spanned more than four decades, died Tuesday at his Toppenish home. He was 84.


August 2012

Yakama: New off-road tender delivered to Toppenish fire station - Yakima County Fire District No. 5 has a new tool to better serve and protect the community. A new off-road tender, capable of carrying 1,500 gallons of water and two firefighters, has now been delivered to the district's station 9 in Toppenish. The Yakama Nations Legends Casino also made a partial grant contribution to the project, which allowed the engine to be outfitted with a higher capacity diesel water pump.

Yakama: Park Volunteer Wins National Award - Fort Clatsop volunteers Elita Tom was awarded the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation’s Youth Achievement award August 1 at its annual meeting in Clarksville, Ind. She received this in recognition of her many years of outstanding volunteer support at Fort Clatsop and her remarkable achievements while undertaking the role of Sacagawea in various first-person interpretation programs. Tom, 17, is a junior at Rex Putnam High School, the daughter of Lewis and Clark National Park Association bookstore employee Terri Schleiss and a member of the Yakama Indian Nation.


July 2012

Yakama: Salmon upstream in White Salmon for first time in 99 years - The Yakama Indian Nation and USGS confirmed this week that salmon are back in the upstream reaches of the White Salmon River for the first time in nearly a century.

Warm Springs-Yakama: Lamprey harvest is under way at Willamette Falls by tribes of the Columbia River basin - Sean Sohappy steps into the water at Willamette Falls and plunges his arm into the flow. Seconds later, he yanks out a writhing, snake-like creature. On Friday a couple dozen members of the Warm Springs and Yakama tribes, mostly in their teens and 20s, harvested lamprey. The tribes have treaty rights that allow them to harvest Pacific lamprey. For generations, it's been an annual tradition -- and one the group hopes to keep alive.

Yakama: Tribal officer honored for saving lives during arson - Yakama Nation tribal police Officer Francisco Delgado has been recognized for saving two lives during a string of arsons in White Swan in early May. Yakima County Sheriff Ken Irwin awarded the 36-year-old officer a letter of commendation Tuesday.

Yakama: At home, sharing the native culture - When Rose Sampson moved back to her home state of Washington from Memphis about 23 years ago, she began beading earrings to pass time during the drive. "I had 400, 500 beaded earrings that I made, and I gave them all away," the Yakama tribal member said. "But I wanted to keep beading." So she did.

Yakama: Nation continues program to reintroduce sockeye into Yakima River Basin - Technician Steve Blodgett must exert himself to carry the long-handled net of several writhing sockeye salmon from the holding tank to the waiting truck. There, driver Chuck Carl takes the net and dumps the fish, each weighing anywhere from 3 to 10 pounds, into the truck’s tank. These fish collected Tuesday morning at the maze of flumes that is the dam’s fish trap, are bound for Lake Cle Elum, two hours away, where Yakama Nation fisheries biologists are in the fourth year of a plan to re-introduce sockeye to the Yakima River Basin. The species died out after the natural lakes in the headwaters of the Yakima River system were dammed for irrigation.

Yakama: Restoring lamprey helps restore Yakama's culture - Yakama elder Russell Jim remembers when there was an abundance of Pacific lamprey in the Yakima River and on the dining tables of his people. But dams and irrigation diversions have largely kept the ancient lamprey from reaching much of the Columbia River and the Yakima basin for decades. Now, a sense of urgency has emerged as the Pacific lamprey faces extinction, prompting five states along with federal agencies and several tribes to adopt a conservation strategy.

Yakama: Indian Reservation off limits for fireworks - According to the sheriff's office, many people still think that it's legal to set off fireworks on the Indian Reservation, but the only people who can use fireworks on the reservation are members of the Yakama Indian Nation or any other recognized tribe.

Yakama: Tribal leaders to discuss plans to regain authority over member - Yakama Nation leaders on Tuesday will brief local government officials of how they intend to implement a measure that will return criminal and civil authority to the tribe over its people. The 11:30 a.m. meeting will be held at the new Yakama Nation Justice Center near the intersection of Robbins and Fort roads.


June 2012

Umatilla, Warm Springs, Yakama: Celilo Salmon Feast Is More Vibrant Than Ever, Despite Flood - An 18-minute black-and-white film, “The Last Salmon Feast of the Celilo Indians,” was produced by the Oregon Historical Society in the late 1950s to document the final fish ceremony conducted before the opening of a new dam flooded the ancient fishing grounds known as Celilo Falls. However, the strength and perseverance of the tribal leaders did not stop after that day’s ceremony and the annual Celilo Salmon Feast is still being held. The falls were silenced, but the tradition and culture of the river people remains vibrant. This year, the three-day feast attracted more than 500 tribal and nontribal people.

Yakama: Elder becomes U of O's oldest-ever graduate - Virginia Beavert, 90, an elder in Washington’s Yakama tribe, will receive her doctorate in linguistics before defending her dissertation next month. Beavert speaks six native languages, has written a Yakama Sahaptin dictionary, and is currently working on a second edition.

Yakama: Columbia chinook bring flavor of spring - Jo Fish of the Yakama Nation sold spring chinook -- whole -- at around $8 a pound Friday near the Bridge of the Gods about 40 miles east of Vancouver down Highway 14. He said he expects the spring chinook run to go for another few weeks.

Yakama: Yakamas commemorate Treaty of 1855 with parade (photos) - Raymond Smartlowit hangs onto his headdress to keep it from being blown off by a gust of wind during the Yakama Nation's annual Treaty Day parade in Toppenish on Friday. The parade is one of the events held each year to commemorate the signing of the Treaty of 1855. Smartlowit is a member of the Yakama Nation Tribal Council. Events continue through the weekend with a powwow at the White Swan Pavilion off Mission Road in White Swan.


May 2012

Nez Perce-Umatilla-Warm Springs-Yakama: Treaty tribes dedicate final replacement fishing site - On April 25, 2012, representatives from four tribes, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Army Corps of Engineers all stood by the Columbia River to mark the end of a construction project both useful and symbolic. It was the completion of the 31st -- and final -- fishing access site on the river, giving tribes the ability to use their traditional fishing grounds and village sites, which they had lost access to due to dams on the river.

Yakama: Nation opens $12 million, state-of-the-art jail - Born of controversy over unsafe conditions at the previous facility, a new state-of-the-art jail was unveiled Wednesday by the Yakama Nation. Situated near the intersection of Fort and Robbins roads, the new jail will begin housing inmates today.

Yakama: County public services wins big at Yakama casino - Legends Casino handed Yakima County Public Services $200,000 Thursday at the casino’s annual round of contributions to local government agencies and nonprofits.

Yakama: EPA has levied four pollution actions in Lower Valley - Out of the 35 enforcement actions taken by the Environmental Protection Agency so far this year in the Pacific Northwest, four were in the Lower Valley. On Thursday, EPA released a summary of enforcement actions that took place between Jan. 1 and March 31. EPA has jurisdiction on the Yakama reservation, where all the violations occurred.

Yakama: Yakama Nation Statement Against the ‘KKK’ Hate Crime Upon a Lakota Elder - Harry Smiskin, chairman: At some point between August 26 and September 8 of 2011, while in the medical care of the Rapid City Regional Hospital following open heart surgery, Vern Traversie, a blind Lakota Elder and enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, allegedly had the letters “KKK” carved into his abdomen. As a former tribal and Bureau of Indian Affairs police officer, I am particularly disturbed by what has not taken place in the aftermath of the assault upon Mr. Traversie. Upon the Yakama Nation’s inquiry of his tribal leaders and other relatives, I understand that there has been a complete failure of any federal, state or local law enforcement agency to take any initiative on the matter – despite that the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Police have determined conclusively that a hate crime has been committed against Mr. Traversie.

Yakama: Powwow against diabetes - Organizers are inviting the public to dance their way to healthier living Tuesday May 8 at the annual Dance Away Diabetes Powwow. Dancers in full regalia will also perform in various dance categories at the 6:30 p.m. powwow at Yakama Tribal School at 601 Linden St. The event being organized by the Yakama Healthy Heart program is free and open to the public.

Yakama: Toppenish workshops to help Yakamas applying for federal jobs - Workshops geared to give Yakama tribal members useful tools when seeking federal jobs will be held May 15 and 17.

Yakama: Feasting On First Salmon - As I walked up to Celilo Village’s newly built longhouse, the sun shone and wind swept alder wood smoke across the area. Ceremonial drums beat inside the longhouse. I learned about the ceremony from Wilbur Slockish, Jr., the hereditary chief of the Klickitat Tribe, a part of the Yakama Nation. The First Salmon Feast must take place each year, before tribal fisherman can harvest salmon.


April 2012

Yakama: Indian education grant hearing due in Wapato - Parents will be able offer input Wednesday during a public hearing on a grant application for Native American students. The 6:30 p.m. public hearing in the Wapato School District's administration building at 212 W. Third St. will be part of the school board's regular meeting. The school district is on the Yakama reservation, and is eligible to apply for the federal Title VII Indian Education Grant.

Yakama: Portland Harbor Superfund site cleanup must extend to the Columbia - Now as a Yakama Nation Tribal Council member and chairman of Yakama's Fish and Wildlife Committee, I call for the restoration of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, not only because failure to do so violates the Yakama Nation's treaty, but also because failure violates the civil rights of all people who rely upon these rivers for subsistence fishing and other uses.

Yakama: Parker residents get new nearly $3 million water system - The water source for the community system is a new well. A back-up well may be drilled if enough funds remain after all the construction bills are paid. Yakima County and the Yakama Nation worked jointly to make the system a reality. Funding came from grants and a $200,000 loan that accompanied a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant.

Yakama: Yakama Nation Challenges Willamette River Polluters to Clean and Protect Lower Columbia River - Portland is an environmentally-friendly city, a scenic city, with Mt. Hood rising postcard-pretty in the distance and an architecturally graceful series of bridges spanning the river that flows through its heart, the Willamette. But there’s a problem with the Willamette: It’s toxic. The Yakama Nation is concerned with two issues. One is the cleanup; the other is the damage to natural resources.

Muckleshoot-Yakama: Jolene Lozier of Enumclaw to compete in Miss Indian World Pageant - Jolene Lozier, an Enumclaw resident and member of the Muckleshoot and Yakama tribes, will compete in the Miss Indian World Pageant as part of the 29th Annual Gathering of Nations. It is billed as the most prominent Native American powwow in the world, taking place between April 26 and April 28 in Albuquerque, N.M.

Yakama: A toxic cocktail runs through it - The Portland Harbor Superfund Site feasibility study released last week by the Lower Willamette Group (LWG) proposes a range of clean-up options by the parties responsible for the contamination in the Willamette River and marks a major milestone in the Superfund process, the Yakama Nation says. But it doesn’t go far enough.

Yakama: Are Drano Lake tribal platforms off-limits? - Virgil Lewis, chairman of the Yakama Nation’s Fish and Wildlife Committee, released the following statement on Wednesday: "In general, the public and sport fishers do not use tribal scaffolds at the Columbia River or other tributaries. At Drano Lake, it should not be assumed that sport fishers can use tribal scaffolds, which are considered personal use items. The inquiry about sport fishers using Drano Lake tribal scaffolds when the tribal fishery is closed is under review by the Yakama Nation Fish and Wildlife Committee."

Yakama: Wapato fined for polluting Yakima River - The City of Wapato, Washington will pay a fine for excess pollution discharges from its municipal sewage treatment facility in violation of its Clean Water Act permit, according to an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The City’s wastewater treatment facility provides secondary treatment of wastewater prior to discharge to the Yakima River. The violations took place on Yakama tribal land, but the facility is not tribally-owned.


March 2012

Yakama: Dairy pulls plan to update facility on reservation - Stephen Bangs wanted to increase the size of his milking parlor at his dairy near Granger, erect a commodity shed for feed and replace structures that shade cows. But on Feb. 24, he withdrew his application for a Yakima County permit to do the work.

Yakama: Tribal officer accused of domestic violence against ex-wife - A Yakama Nation police officer is facing fourth-degree assault charges after his ex-wife accused him pushing and kicking her.

Yakama: Governor approves tribal rights bill - A measure led by the Yakama Nation that would allow American Indian tribes to regain civil and criminal jurisdiction over their people was signed into law Monday by Gov. Chris Gregoire.

Yakama: Film, frybread contest Tuesday in Toppenish - A film-maker who has produced four Native American movies will visit the Yakama Nation on Tuesday to show his latest film: "More Than Frybread."

Yakama: Indian taco feed today in Toppenish - Toppenish High School students are holding an Indian Taco feed today at the Yakama Nation’s Wildlife office to help raise money for field trips.

Yakama: Powwow Dancers Perform in Front of 1.5 Million in South America - Last July the Yakama Nation of Washington was contacted regarding Carnaval Andino in Chile, the second largest event in South America, second only to the huge Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. No North American Indian group had ever been invited to participate at Carnaval Andino but the Yakama Nation was asked to send a group down and take part in the huge parades with dancing and singing. Not only that, they would be the featured group!

Yakama: Indian arts, crafts show is March 24-25 - Handmade jewelry, deerskin drums, beaded purses and bags are among the items to be on display March 24-25 during the 48th annual Spilyay-Mi Indian Arts and Craft Show. The event will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 24, and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. the following day at the Winter Lodge and 14 Tribes room of the Yakama Nation's Cultural Center at U.S. Highway 97 and Buster Road. Admission is $2 per person.

Yakama: Yakima Nation challenges Kittitas County land-use rules - The Yakama Nation wants a state growth board to throw out Kittitas County government’s provisions that allow creation of nine large rural lots 20 acres or more in size in a single action.

Umatilla-Warm Springs-Yakama: Horse slaughter plant planned for eastern Oregon after change in national rules - A horse slaughter and processing plant -- which could be among the first in the country in five years -- may open in Hermiston within a year. Private investors and Northwest tribes are likely to underwrite the proposed 20,000-square-foot operation that would employ 100 people and slaughter 25,000 horses a year, Duquette said. No Northwest tribal councils have signed off on the project yet, but the tribes are bowed by crushing numbers of ownerless horses on the reservations. Examples: An estimated 6,000 horses roam the 640,000-acre Warm Springs Indian Reservation near Madras; up to 15,000 horses range across the 1.4 million-acre Yakama Indian Reservation in central Washington and 350 horses roam the 178,000-acre Umatilla Indian Reservation near Pendleton.

Yakama: Acquitted in triple slaying, White Swan man back in custody - A White Swan man who was acquitted in the brutal 2003 stabbing deaths of his sister and two others is back in custody after he allegedly fled a traffic stop. Bail was set Monday at $100,000 while prosecutors review the case of Arthur Joseph Sanchey, 55, who was arrested Sunday by a Washington State Patrol trooper.

Yakama: Yakima River Basin water plan released - Federal and state officials rolled out a final environmental report Friday on a plan to meet Yakima River Basin's future needs for more water storage, fish passage and land preservation. What is different about this plan is the support from the Yakama Indian Nation, a key basin player, and environmental groups.


February 2012

Yakama: Hastings seeks Impact Aid grants for area school districts - U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings wants to make it easier for school districts with large amounts of federally owned land in their borders to apply for federal construction grants.

Yakama: State Supreme Court backs Yakama fisherman in sturgeon case - In a ruling issued this morning, the state Supreme Court determined that state wildlife authorities had no right to give a Yakama fisherman a ticket for catching undersized fish with a net at a tribal fishing site.

Yakama: Yakama Housing Authority getting $6.3 million - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today announced it was awarding the Yakama Nation Housing Authority a $6.3 million grant.

Yakama: The return of the wapato potato (Video) - Nine months ago as a graduate student, Emily Washines' research led her to rediscover a largely missing piece of her culture: a wild, native potato traditionally eaten by the Yakama. A graduate student at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washines was reading about a similar tribal root vegetable in the Midwest when she decided to search for the potato on her own Yakama reservation.

Yakama: White Swan: A Year Later Still Trying to Rebuild - It's been nearly a year since a fire tore through White Swan destroying 14 homes. Donations poured in from not just our community but across the country. But where has that money been spent? And what to the victims have to show for it. Life is looking up for some in white swan. Those living in Yakama Nation housing now have brand new homes. But everyone hasn't been so fortunate.

Yakama Indians have new solution for sturgeon - Here in this small town in Eastern Washington’s Toppenish area, the Yakama Indian Nation is operating a cutting-edge sturgeon hatchery. Especially in light of severe ongoing cutbacks in the Lower Columbia River sturgeon fishery, this may be an idea whose time has come.


January 2012

Yakama: Wapato, Toppenish join tribe in call for returned jurisdiction - A controversial proposal by the Yakama Nation to unravel the state's civil and criminal jurisdiction over its people has garnered the support of two reservation towns -- Wapato and Toppenish. At issue is a 1953 federal act known as Public Law 280, which allowed states nationwide to assume jurisdiction over tribal members in key arenas ranging from school attendance and juvenile delinquency to adoption proceedings. But in 1968, Congress amended the law to include a so-called "retrocession" provision to return some or all jurisdiction over American Indians to the federal government, and essentially, the tribes. Before that can happen, the governor would have to agree with the request and forward it to the U.S. Department of Interior, which has final say.

Yakama: Dancers will perform in Chile - Yakama powwow dancers will head to northern Chile this week for a cultural exchange at the area's large carnaval. "We are the first Native American tribe to be invited and featured at this large event," said Stephanie G. Wendt, Yakama Nation tourism coordinator. Dancers from the Colville, Paiute and Navajo tribes as well as from Canada -- 21 in all -- will travel with the Yakamas to Arica, Chile, for the carnaval, which runs Friday through Sunday.

Yakama: Yakama Nation closes Boundary Reach to anglers - Rule-breaking anglers certainly don’t like it and even some law-abiding fishermen may not like it, but state fisheries biologists are quite pleased with the Yakama Nation’s decision to close to sport fishing the stretch of the Yakima River that borders the reservation. For years, tribal and state fisheries and enforcement officials have been alarmed about the number of winter and early-spring anglers that, while ostensibly fishing for whitefish, have reeled in and in some cases illegally harvested steelhead.

Yakama: Harrah brush fire burns about 100 acres - A brush fire whipped up by gusty weather burned about 80 to 100 acres Saturday afternoon before firefighters were able to bring it under control. Capt. Dave Martin of Yakima County Fire District 5 said the blaze at Island and Pump House roads appeared to have started from a burn pile at a nearby residence. He said the fire was stoked by winds of 20-25 mph and low humidity. It took District 5 and Yakama Nation tribal crews four hours to control the blaze.

Yakama: Death of Yakama Leader Leaves Ripples in Many Communities - The October 27, 2011 death of Yakama General Council chair Moses Dick Squeochs created serious ripples not only within his family and the Yakama people, but also with the higher education, environmental and Native rights communities in which he served. Squeochs had served as chair of the Fourteen Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation since 2007. During his lifetime, Squeochs served on many federal and state boards that included higher education, agriculture and Native rights.

Yakama: Columbia man returns rare Native American artifact to Washington state museum - Paul Cary found himself in Toppenish, Wash., this past year because of a basket. The coordinator of MU Toxicology discovered in 2008 that a rare Native American basket he had purchased for his personal collection was stolen from a museum of the Pacific Northwest Yakama tribe. Cary brought the basket, called a Sally bag by the Native American women who once used it to collect roots, back to the Yakama Nation last October.

Yakama: Designs for new Wapato High School to be revealed this week - Residents will get a look at the design for the new Wapato High School at a Wednesday night meeting. Construction of the new school, which is being paid for by a $20 million bond approved by voters in February, is set to begin next fall. This will replace the outdated half-century-old school with a 166,000- square-foot, state-of-the-art facility.

Yakama: Shrinking glaciers on Mount Adams signal growing water problem - Spectacular on a clear, sunny day, Mount Adams rises a scant 53 miles from Yakima. But the mountain holds what until now has been pretty much a secret. In the first comprehensive study of its kind, a Portland State University study has found Mount Adams' 12 glaciers have shrunk by nearly half since 1904 and are receding faster than those of nearby sister volcanoes Mount Hood and Mount Rainier. "Precipitation hasn't changed much, but it is switching from snow to rain," according to Andrew Fountain, a Portland State University geology professor who presented his findings at the "Mount Adams in a Warming Climate" event was co-sponsored by the Yakama Indian Nation, the U.S. Forest Service and private groups.

Yakama: Speedy pronghorns reintroduced into Washington - Pronghorns reasserted themselves as the fastest land mammals in Washington in January, thanks to a sportsmen’s group that joined with the Yakama Nation for an end run around state bureaucracy and environmental red tape. Volunteers from Safari Club International and tribal members released 99 of the prairie speedsters on the Yakama Indian Reservation after trucking them 700 miles from the site where they were captured in Nevada. The pronghorns quickly broke into small groups and dispersed as much as 40 miles in different directions, many of them off the reservation. At least six went over mountains to the Klickitat River area.


December 2011

Yakama: Two missing tribal members located near Toppenish - Two members of the Yakama Nation missing since Tuesday were reunited with family Thursday night. The two men, ages 27 and 35, were reported missing when they didn't return to their residence Tuesday night following a hunting trip. Klickitat County received a cell call from the missing men. They were ok, but out of gas.

Yakama: Wapato High School builds a foundation for science - A towering crane on Wednesday set large modular structures onto a foundation at the northeast end of Wapato High School, beginning work on what in a few months will be a brand new, 16,000-square-foot science lab. A $3.7 million federal Impact Aid grant is paying for the new science lab, and a $20 million bond approved by voters last February will see the rest of the more than half-century-old high school replaced in the next few years. The federal grant is aimed at school districts with large amounts of nontaxable land, such as tribal reservations or military installations.

Yakama: Work to begin on Drano Lake fishing ramp - Construction of the wheelchair-accessible fishing ramp at Drano Lake in Skamania County is expected to begin on Tuesday. The Yakama Indian Nation Fish, Wildlife and Law and Order Committee granted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service permission to move two tribal scaffolds built in late May on the construction site.

Yakama: Drano Lake fishing ramp gets Forest Service approval - The Forest Service has given the green light for construction of a wheelchair-accessible fishing ramp at Drano Lake in Skamania County. The ramp is envisioned to be about 250 feet long and four feet wide, said Speros Doulos, manager of the four federal hatcheries in the Gorge. Doulos is working with Yakama Indian Nation officials to remove two tribal fishing scaffolds at the site of the proposed ramp. Tribal officials in August prohibited scaffolds with 50 feet of the site.

Yakama: Restore the Yakima River and its salmon! - Earlier this year, the multi-stakeholder Yakima Workgroup agreed on a general plan to restore hundreds of thousands of salmon to the Yakima River and its tributaries, including what could be the largest sockeye salmon run in the lower 48 states.

Yakama: "Lily of the Mohawks" to be named a saint, Yakima Catholics "rejoicing" - The approval by Pope Benedict XVI of a miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha has Native American Catholics in Central Washington rejoicing that she will soon be declared a saint of the Roman Catholic Church. "We´ve prayed really hard for her recognition," said Yvonne Smith, a Yakama nation member. "We’ve thought of her all along as a saint."

Yakama: Some burning restrictions lifted - The Yakima Valley and the Yakama Indian Reservation have been under some form of burning restriction since Nov. 28 as a persistent high pressure system over the Northwest has allowed pollutants to build up.

Lower Elwha Klallam-Port Gamble S'Klallam-Stó:lo-Yakama: Lower Elwha Gallery exhibit to showcase native art - The spirits of the native people of the Strait of Juan de Fuca will be unleashed in an art exhibit Saturday. Artists include Darrel Charles Jr., Roger Fernandes and Robert Francis III of the Elwha Klallam; Ivan Francis of the Stó:lo tribe of British Columbia; Darryl Barkley of the Yakima tribe; and Jimmy Price of Port Gamble.

Yakama: Tribal fishing scaffolds at Drano Lake a blight for everyone - November winds knocked down several fishing platforms on Drano Lake, but some were built too close to "Social Security Beach."

Yakama: Limited hunting best plan for preserving ALE site - It's been a long-held dream of many hunters to help cull the herd at Hanford, which has grown to nearly 700 elk that have found refuge on lands with no public access. The Yakama Nation has asked for the herd to be culled as well, though most tribes are still concerned about the effect of opening public access to the sensitive lands.

Yakama: Renewable energy thirst fueled wind farms on gusty ridges - Members of the Yakama and Wanapum tribes dig bitterroots at the Wild Horse wind farm site each spring. But the boom in Northwest wind farm development may have hit its peak.

Yakama: White Swan Fire Victims to Get New Homes in Time for Christmas - The Yakama Nation is spending $400-thousand donated from the community and other tribes to build the trailer park near White Swan High School.

Yakama: Proposed Eastern Washington Biomass Facility Debated - Meddlesome group in Seattle says the Yakima-area plant could make people sick.

Yakama: Biomass plant planned near White Swan - Tribal biomass to fuel $80 million wood waste-to-energy 20-megawatt power plant.

Yakama: Ten fire-displaced families get relief

Yakama: Trail from Yakima to Mount Rainier park aims for June opening

Yakama: Families displaced by White Swan fire should be in new homes by Christmas

Umatilla-Yakama: Elk Hunt On Hanford Reach Controversial With Tribes


November 2011

Colville-Yakama: Washington State Agency Accused of Placing Native Foster Children with Pedophile Priests

Yakama: Native sustainable communities to be Diversity Series topic

Yakama: All kidding aside, Hames’ work for the Yakama Nation was no joke

Yakama: Ex-tribal officer gets 19 months for harassment

Yakama: Former tribal officer sentenced in case over estranged wife

Yakama: White Swan trailer park owner ordered to repair housing

Yakama: Museum opens Vets exhibit

Yakama: Native American Journalists Association president resigns, saying group is in ‘financial ruin’

Yakama: Landlord will get notice to fix trailers in White Swan

Yakama: Zillah boat ramp reconstruction done, angler options might increase

Yakama: Controlled burns revitalize ecosystem

Yakama: Blind Hope | Wapato man learns to live without sight

Yakama: Government must do its job at trailer park

Yakama: Coho counts are jumping

Yakama: The Condit Dam Removal and Moving Forward in the White Salmon River


October 2011

Yakama: Tribal bag takes long, winding route home

Tribal officer injured when other driver fails to yield

Yakama leader dies of injury sustained in ranch mishap

Spectacular Time-Lapse Video of Historic Dam Removal

Yakama Recognized for Environmentally Sound Solid Waste Handling

General Council Chairman Mose Squeochs passed yesterday

Husum Falls Becomes Focal Point After Condit Dam Goes Down

A White Salmon River free of Condit Dam is monumental for tribal elder, kayaker and a fish biologist

Man unconscious after ranch accident

Survivor: South Pacific

National forest branches out

Melvin Sampson to be honored Thursday

 
 
 
 


Join The Cowlitz Country News Yahoo Forum


Copyright © 2011 Rod Van Mechelen; all rights reserved.

Rod Van Mechelen, Publisher & Editor, Cowlitz Country News

Hosted by: The Zip Connection