Kim Kalliber, Author at Tulalip News

Gold Medalist Billy Mills Inspires Healthy Living with His Own Experiences

Olympic Gold Medalist Billy Mills at yesterday's NIHB Conference — Olympic Gold Medalist Billy Mills at yesterday’s NIHB Conference

Source: Native News Today, August 29, 2013

TRAVERSE CITY, MICHIGAN – Olympic Gold Medalist and humanitarian warrior, Billy Mills brought people to their feet in standing ovation as he shared his experiences with diabetes and traditional healing in the second day plenary session of the National Indian Health Board’s 30th Annual Consumer Conference.

“We are so honored to have Billy here with us today. His words are inspiring and he truly makes everyone feel special. He is someone filled with positive energy. I believe the Creator is using him to help make our people achieve their dreams whether it’s running a marathon, living a healthier lifestyle or improving their health through traditional foods and healing,”

said NIHB Chairperson Cathy Abramson.

“Billy is a great advocate for health, not just physically, but spiritually and mentally too. His message today was truly inspirational for those who are suffering from diseases, like diabetes, in hopes that they renew their health.”

Mills, Oglala Lakota, who grew up on the reservation has lived with borderline diabetes for most of his life. In his speech today, he told a story about tingling fingers and blurry vision – both symptoms of diabetes as he ran in the Olympic race that won him the gold medal.

“One lap to go. I was pushed. I didn’t quit but I could feel myself accept third place. I will let them get 10 yards ahead of me. At this point I could feel the tingling sensation, with my vision coming and going. 150 meters to go and I was nine yards behind, 120 meters and 8.5 meters behind, 100 meters and 8 meters behind. Someone cut into me, but the fourth lane opened up. Lifting my knees, strengthening my stride I took my opportunity. As I went by in the center of my opponent’s jersey was an eagle, and I heard my dad, ‘if you follow the teachings you will have the wings of an eagle.’

In my mind, I was thinking I will never be this close again.

Then I felt the tape break across my chest. A Japanese official said, ‘Who are you?’ At that point, I had to find the German and tell him that his eagle helped me win. I found him but there was no eagle on his jersey, just the Olympic rings. It was a simple perception. Perceptions can create us or destroy us. We need to take control of them. Diabetes can take control of us. The traditional virtues and values give us confidence and clarity to take control. Realizing that is the easy part, the hard part is doing it every day,”

Mills said.

The growing epidemic of diabetes represents one of Indian Country’s public health challenges. American Indians and Alaska Natives have the highest prevalence of diabetes amongst all US racial and ethnic groups. In response to this epidemic, Congress established the Special Diabetes Program for Indians (SDPI) in 1997, and is up for renewal in 2014.

In an update today on the Tribal Leaders Diabetes Committee, Buford Rolin, Chair of the Committee said that Special Diabetes Program for Indians continues to improve the health of Indian country and has led to significant advances in diabetes treatment, prevention, and education. SDPI programs across Indian country are achieving dramatic reductions in risk factors such as blood pressure, weight, bad cholesterol and blood sugar levels.

“Diabetes is an issue that we care so passionately about. Our collaborative efforts, as tribal leaders and tribal health care professionals, will help keep Indian country on a path to a diabetes-free future. It is important that Congress renew this program past fiscal year 2014. The lives of our people depend on it,”

added Rolin, who is also the Chairman of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.

Fukushima crisis new blow to fishermen’s hopes

In this Aug. 26, 2013 photo, fisherman Fumio Suzuki watches the sunrise aboard his boat Ebisu Maru before the star of fishing in the waters off Iwaki, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, Japan. Suzuki's trawler is one of 14 at his port helping to conduct once-a-week fishing expeditions in rotation to measure radiation levels of fish they catch in the waters off Fukushima. Fishermen in the area hope to resume test catches following favorable sampling results more than two years after the disaster, though for now fishing is suspended due to leaks of radiation-contaminated water from storage tanks at the nuclear power plant. Photo: Koji Ueda — In this Aug. 26, 2013 photo, fisherman Fumio Suzuki watches the sunrise aboard his boat Ebisu Maru before the star of fishing in the waters off Iwaki, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, Japan. Suzuki’s trawler is one of 14 at his port helping to conduct once-a-week fishing expeditions in rotation to measure radiation levels of fish they catch in the waters off Fukushima. Fishermen in the area hope to resume test catches following favorable sampling results more than two years after the disaster, though for now fishing is suspended due to leaks of radiation-contaminated water from storage tanks at the nuclear power plant. Photo: Koji Ueda

By MIKI TODA and KOJI UEDA, Associated Press

YOTSUKURA, Japan (AP) — Third-generation fisherman Fumio Suzuki sets out into the Pacific Ocean every seven weeks. Not to catch fish to sell, but to catch fish that can be tested for radiation.

For the last 2 ½ years, fishermen from the port of Yotsukura near the stricken Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant have been mostly stuck on land with little to do. There is no commercial fishing along most of the Fukushima coast. In a nation highly sensitive to food safety, there is no market for the fish caught near the stricken plant because the meltdowns it suffered contaminated the ocean water and marine life with radiation.

A sliver of hope emerged after recent sampling results showed a decline in radioactivity in some fish species. But a new crisis spawned by fresh leaks of radioactive water from the Fukushima plant last week may have dashed those prospects.

Fishermen like 47-year-old Suzuki now wonder whether they ever will be able to resume fishing, a mainstay for many small rural communities like Yotsukura, 45 kilometers (30 miles) south of the Fukushima plant. His son has already moved on, looking for work in construction.

“The operators (of the plant) are reacting too late every time in whatever they do,” said Suzuki, who works with his 79-year-old father Choji after inheriting the family business from him.

“We say, ‘Don’t spill contaminated water,’ and they spilled contaminated water. They are always a step behind so that is why we can’t trust them,” Suzuki said, as his trawler, the Ebisu Maru, traveled before dawn to a point about 45 kilometers (30 miles) offshore from the Fukushima plant to bring back a test catch.

With his father at the wheel, Suzuki dropped the heavy nets out the back of the boat, as the black of night faded to a sapphire sky, tinged orange at the horizon.

As the sun rose over a glassy sea, father and son hauled in the heavily laden nets and then set to the hard work of sorting the fish: sardines, starfish, sole, sea bream, sand sharks, tossing them into yellow and blue plastic baskets as sea gulls screamed and swooped overhead.

Five hours later, the Ebisu Maru docked at Yotsukura where waiting fishermen dumped the samples into coolers and rushed them to a nearby laboratory to be gutted and tested.

Suzuki says his fisheries co-operative will decide sometime soon whether to persist in gathering samples.

For now they will have to survive on compensation from the government and Tokyo Electric Power Co., the plant’s operator.

The cooperative also had plans to start larger-scale test catches next month that would potentially also be for consumption if radiation levels were deemed safe.

But those plans were put on hold after more bad news last week: authorities discovered that a massive amount of partially treated, radioactive water was leaking from tanks at Fukushima, the fifth and so far the worst, breach.

The water, stored in 1,000 tanks, is pumped into three damaged reactors to keep their melted fuel cool. Much of the water leaked into the ground but some may have escaped into the sea through a rain-water gutter.

On Wednesday, the Nuclear Regulation Authority upgraded its rating of the leak to a “serious incident,” or level 3, up from a level 1 on the international scale of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

It remains unclear what the environmental impact from the latest contamination will be on sea life. Scientists have said contamination tends to be carried by a southward current and largely diluted as it spreads.

Nobuyuki Hatta, director of the Fukushima Prefecture Fisheries Research Center, said the trend had been positive before the latest leaks, with fewer fish found exceeding radiation limits.

The government’s safety limit is 100 becquerels per kilogram, but local officials have set a stricter bar of 50 becquerels, said Hatta, who still expects test fishing to resume in September.

It all depends on the type of fish, their habitat and what they eat. Out of 170 types of fish tested, 42 fish species are off limits due to concern they are too radioactive, another 15 species show little or no signs of contamination. Few, if any, show any detectable levels of cesium.

Tests take over a month and are complicated. The time lag makes it difficult to say at any given point if sea life caught off the Fukushima coast is really safe to eat.

Also, local labs lack the ability to test fish for other toxic elements such as strontium and tritium. Scientists say strontium should be particularly watched for, as it accumulates in bones. TEPCO’s monitoring results of sea water show spikes in strontium levels in recent weeks.

Suzuki has little faith in the future of his business.

“People in the fishing business have no choice but to give up,” he said. “Many have mostly given up already.”

___

Associated Press writers Elaine Kurtenbach and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.

Tulalip Backpack Distribution, Aug 29

11AM – 6PM, Tulalip Quil Ceda Elementary School

Open to Native American students in kindergarten-12th grade that are enrolled members of the Tulalip Tribe – or – other Natives that must be enrolled in the Marysville School District. Tribal ID and/or tribal affiliation verifcation required.

Community Meeting, Mission Beach Improvements, Sept 10

Community Meeting, Tulalip tribal members only

5-7:30 PM, Tulalip Administration Building

Tulalip on Lopez Island

Lopez-group — Tulalip youth at Lopez Island
Photo/Andrew Gobin

Lopez Island − Two aging piers, a bit of history and a lot of fun. Tulalip kids paid a visit to the tribes’ property at MacKaye Harbor on Thursday, August 22.

Tulalip Youth Services offers a plethora of activities during the summer to occupy kids, including movie premiers, whirly ball, and trips to Wildwaves. This year, youth services wanted to do something different.

“We usually do the same things, make the same trips, but those things are typically open year round,” said Tony Hatch, who organized the trip. “We wanted to do something special, something different. So we brought the kids up here to learn about the tribes’ fishing history.”

He and Ron Iukes reminisced about fishing and staying on the docks during the summer.

“It’s good that the kids see this part of our history, and where we fished off the reservation,” Hatch added. “Here, they also get to see some of the tribes’ property that has been put on the back burner.”

Tulalip fishermen used to fish the San Juan Islands more frequently, which led to the purchase of land. Today, four tracts of land are owned by Tulalip, the first purchased in 1986, two in 1993, and one in 2005, according to the San Juan County Assessor. They still fish there today, though not as often as the decades leading in to the 1980s and early 1990s.

The tribe did plan to renovate the docks, and began work on one in recent years, but the project has not progressed since.

Hatch said, “It is unclear what Tulalip will do with the land, but we’d like to plan an end of the year camp next year.”

UA will celebrate a cultural exhibition, “Drums, Tomahawks and the Horse”

Akron, Ohio, Aug. 27, 2013— Native American cultural artifacts rarely seen in this region will be on display at the University of Akron’s Center of the History of Psychology. The objects are part of the Jim and Vanita Oelschlager Collection.

The exhibition, “Drums, Tomahawks and the Horse: Native American Cultural Tools,” will be introduced with an opening reception on Saturday, Sept. 7 from noon to 4 p.m. at the University of Akron Center for the History of Psychology.

The exhibit will feature drums, tomahawks, shields, headdresses and other tools related to Native American life and the use of the horse. It will highlight artistic expression in objects such as beaded moccasins, painted buffalo robes, decorations with porcupine quills and ledger drawings.

These cultural artifacts represent tools used during the late 1700s to the early 1900s and will be placed in an historical context with maps and timelines of selected events of change in the lives of Native Americans.

“The opening celebration will begin with a traditional Lakota blessing and song by Joey Tiger,” said Dr. Lynn Metzger, research associate of the Department of Anthropology and Classical Studies, “Native American Lakota traditional dancers will perform with regalia and drums in order to remind us the sacred traditions are still alive. Demonstrations of atlatl throwing and flint knapping will connect us back to prehistoric tools.”

UA’s Center for the History of Psychology is located at 73 College St. in Akron. Running through Feb. 15, 2014, the exhibition is open Mondays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. For more information, call 330-972-7285 or visit uakron.edu/chp.

Cherokee Nation Youth Choir in Thanksgiving Parade

2013 Cherokee National Youth Choir (L to R): Front row: Sean Sikora, Austin Jones, Jessalyn McCarter, Brandon Doyle and Seif Drywater. Second row: Saundra Downey, Tabitha Fishinghawk, Skylar Glass, Bailey Justice, Cierra Fields and Chloe Martinez. Third row: Shay Downey, Lacie Melton, Alayna Harkreader, Makayla Hernandez, Marissa Williams, Madison Shoemaker, Garrett Million, Caidlen Dunham, Kaleigh Christie, Natalie Gibson, Roxanna Seay and Zakry Fine. Not pictured: Dalyn Patterson, Mariah O’Field, Jaycee Jackson and Diamond Rock.

Source: Grand Lake News

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. —The Cherokee National Youth Choir will trade their traditional Thanksgiving turkey and dressing meal to travel to New York City and sing in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

It’s the second time the Cherokee National Youth Choir has been invited to the parade. The choir participated in 2007.

“We are thrilled to be invited back to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade,” said Cherokee National Youth Choir Director Mary Kay Henderson. “It is very humbling, and our students take the opportunity very seriously. They know they are representing the Cherokee Nation on the parade route.”

Henderson said the 2 ½-mile parade, with more than 4 million people in attendance and viewers watching nationally, is mind boggling and something the 28 choir members will never forget.

The group is practicing weekly and held numerous fundraisers. The tribe will underwrite the majority of the trip.

The Cherokee National Youth Choir was founded in 2000 to keep youth interested in the culture and involved with speaking the Cherokee language. The choir has produced 11 albums, with the most recent being “Cherokee America” in 2012. The song choice for the Macy’s Day Parade won’t be revealed until on the parade route.

The public can hear the Cherokee National Youth Choir during several concerts at the Cherokee National Holiday. The choir will perform during the art show at the Tahlequah Armory Municipal Center at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 30. They also perform at Principal Chief Bill John Baker’s State of the Nation address about 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 31, at the Court House Square, and 2 p.m. at the Tahlequah Armory Municipal Center. Admission is free.

For more information on the Cherokee National Youth Choir, contact Mary Kay Henderson at 918-772-4172 or marykay-henderson@cherokee.org.

MLK’s ‘I Have a Dream’ legacy celebrated in shared memories

Julie Muhlstein, The Herald

EVERETT — In poetry and song, proclamations, speeches and shared memories, the essence of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech was celebrated Wednesday night in Snohomish County.

An overflow crowd packed the Jackson Center at Everett Community College to hear leaders, young people and those who remember the struggles of the Civil Rights Movement reflect on King’s words, spoken in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 28, 1963.

County Executive John Lovick, noting that King’s birthplace of Atlanta has adopted the slogan “a city too busy to hate,” suggested a positive variation: “Snohomish County — a county that is not too busy to love.”

Two presenters were given standing ovations, one representing a new generation, the other an Everett elder, former City Councilman Carl Gipson Sr.

Gipson, first elected to the City Council in 1970, recalled harsh realities of his youth in Arkansas, when he wasn’t allowed into restrooms or restaurants. In Everett, he knocked on doors for a job, finally talking his way into one at a car dealership.

Gipson’s expressed gratitude to Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson for his efforts in naming the city’s senior center in his honor.

Many expressed a common theme, that King’s dream is not yet fully realized.

As they did for Gipson, the audience stood to applaud at the end of a poem recited by Rahwa Beyan, a 17-year-old leader of the youth chapter of Snohomish County’s NAACP organization. Her powerful recitation centered on the shooting death of black Florida teenager Trayvon Martin.

Lynnwood Mayor Don Gough spoke about a new “Let Freedom Ring” event earlier Wednesday in his city. Bells rang, and members of the public were given a minute each to say what King’s speech meant to them. Gough said social justice and civil rights “must meld with labor and worker rights.”

Shirley Sutton, of Lynnwood, read proclamations from her city, from Everett and Snohomish County officially recognizing the 50th anniversary of the march on Washington.

Tulalip Tribal Chairman Mel Sheldon offered a brief history lesson about his people.

It was 1924, he said, before American Indians were granted the right to vote. Sheldon praised current leaders of local government for forging strong relationships with the Tulalip Tribes.

There were speakers representing “Yesterday’s Wisdom,” “Today’s Focus” and “Tomorrow’s Dreams.”

Angelina Karke, a student at Discovery Elementary School in the Mukilteo district, shared an ambitious dream of her own:

“My dream is to be accepted into Harvard Law School. I will get my law degree and become president of the United States,” the girl said

After Offensive Fiasco, Paul Frank Collaborates With Native Designers

Kate Crowley, Jezebel.com

Imagine this: After producing an event offensive to Native Americans, Paul Frank is now working with Native American artists and designers — going from cultural appropriation to cultural appreciation.

This time of year about 150,000 people descend on Santa Fe, New Mexico for Indian Market and it’s a pretty big deal as leaders and artists from the United States and Canada get together for an extreme exchange of creative thoughts. This past Friday evening before the official start of Indian Market, about 200 fashion-forward folks gathered at the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts to celebrate the release of the “Paul Frank Presents” collection, featuring work by four Native designers.

Unlike previous get togethers, this one didn’t include tomahawks, “war paint,” or cocktails with tacky neo-native names. Instead it celebrated a high profile “win” for all who challenge cultural appropriation.

The event launched the collection and included a panel discussion and receptions with some of the movers and shakers involved in the Paul Frank/Beyond Buckskin/Native Appropriations saga proved that sometimes social change can be an outcome of fashion design, blogging, and community action. Whoa. The event centered on a dynamite panel with the collection’s designers (Candace Halcro, Plains Cree/Metis, Louie Gong, Nooksack, Autumn Dawn Gomez, Comanche/Taos and Dustin Quinn Martin, Navajo), powerful female writers and bloggers Adrienne Keene, Cherokee, and Jessica Metcalfe, Turtle Mountain Chippewa, and VP of Design for Paul Frank, Tracy Bunkoczy.

Part academic, part celebration, the atmosphere at the beginning of the event was serious: a quick 10-minute rehash of previous events, including the party Paul Frank held where Native appropriation was flaunted, in front a mostly Native crowd was likely the source of Bunkoczy’s cautious nervousness. “It must be hard to sit here and listen to this over and over again,” Keene playfully said of the rehash to the group in attendance from Paul Frank. However Keene also noted that the ladies from Paul Frank really spent extra time working with Metcalf, Keene and the artists to make the collaboration line a reality.

“This happened because of people in the Native American community and our allies who want us to be represented properly in popular culture,” said Dr. Metcalfe.

“I’m not used to there being any sort of response back to me….I was just blown away, ” says Keene of Paul Frank’s large-scale action, which included facilitating a licensing webinar for those in the industry as well as extensive action on items that had already been licensed.

After a recap of the previous transgressions, the artists spoke to the audience about their work for the collaboration inspiring laughter and head-nodding from the audience. Gomez, wearing a crown from her Paul Frank line, stressed a duty to her community while Gong said his work for the line was directly inspired by the situation that led to the collaboration including “sustainable relationships.” Canadian designer Candace Halcro, with a hairstyle that likely was the inspiration for Miley’s new ‘do, said she loves looking “crazy and cool and trendy.” She’s known as the “sunglasses girl,” and experimented with how to incorporate Julius, the Paul Frank mascot before deciding to stay true to her brand’s most well known look. Dustin Quinn Martin, the first designer to speak ended his portion with this thought: “I hope especially the Native people in the crowd are proud of what we came up with, and feel like there’s a little bit of us in every single one of these designs and that we didn’t sell out to the man.”

Indeed, you might be wondering what the deal with profits is here, since it was earlier noted that the designers “consulted” for free. At the event it was revealed that the designers themselves will receive the profits from the new line, but also that much of the work concerning the manufacturing and creation of the items was left to the artists. This wasn’t out of the norm for the female designers, since none of their work can easily be mass-produced. Still, the items showcasing the graphics that the male designers created essentially needed to be outsourced for mass production. “Normal” Paul Frank collaborations involve a split of the profits between the company and the other designer. This time around Paul Frank will not profit from the sales and all of the profits from the collection will go to each of the designers. The items are sold through the Beyond Buckskin Boutique and the Paul Frank items at the MoCNA seemed to be selling well and attracting attention this weekend.

Autumn Dawn Gomez; Dustin Martin; Candace Halcro.

The crowd was a who’s who of creatives in Indian Country and Santa Fe. Just like any other fashion party, guests were anxious to mingle, meet the designers and try on items from the line. This time though, everyone in attendance was appreciative of the work and aware of what can happen when a community challenges appropriation.

The artists and panelists pose with the Paul Frank crew.

Kate Crowley is a blogger in the Southwest who writes for New Times’ Chow Bella and Jackalope Ranch blogs. Follow her on Twitter: @KateCrowley.

Yakama Nation Strikes Historic Agreement With DOJ, FBI To Settle Litigation Over 2011 Reservation Raid

FBI Agrees To Communicate With Yakama Police Before Entering Yakama Indian Country

Source: Intercontinental Cry

AUGUST 26, 2013 – Toppenish, WA – The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation have reached an unprecedented, out-of-court settlement with the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), principally the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The settlement fully and finally resolves Yakama’s lawsuit against the FBI and several of its sister law enforcement agencies, as well as various county and municipal police agencies from Washington State, Mississippi and Virginia. That suit arose from a federal task force raid of Yakama Reservation trust lands that commenced at dawn on February 16, 2011. Upon word of the settlement on August 15, 2013, U.S. District Court Judge Rosanna Peterson closed the case.

“Today is historic. The United States has agreed to honor the law enforcement protocols set forth in the Yakama Treaty of 1855. That is unprecedented.” said Yakama Nation Tribal Council Chairman and former police chief Harry Smiskin. “From today forward the FBI will communicate with Tribal Police before they enter Yakama Indian Country. I am confident that the resulting cooperation between federal and tribal cops will greatly improve public safety throughout our territories.”

Through Article II of the Yakama Treaty of 1855, the Yakama Reservation was set apart for the exclusive use and benefit of the Yakama Nation. To that end, the Yakama Treaty makes clear that no “white man” shall be permitted to reside upon Yakama Indian Country without permission from the Yakama Nation. Federal Treaty negotiators explained to the Yakama that Article II meant that no one – not even United States agents, with the lone exception of today’s Bureau of Indian Affairs agents – would be permitted to step onto Yakama Reservation lands without the Yakamas’ consent.

Also, in Article VIII of the Yakama Treaty, the United States and Yakama Nation set forth a process for delivering Yakama criminals or suspects who are in Yakama Indian Country to federal authorities. Federal Treaty negotiators explained to the Yakama that Article VIII meant there would be a consultation process between the Head Chief or all of the Yakama Chiefs, and the United States, relative to any Yakama alleged to have committed a wrong, before they might be delivered up to federal authorities.

The settlement agreement between Yakama and DOJ is called, “Recitals of Joint Law Enforcement Goals.” It recites that:

• “The Parties have a common interest in preventing violence, fighting crime in, and ensuring the safety and security of Yakama Indian Country…”

• “The United States embraces the federal government’s special trust responsibility to and relationship with the Yakama Nation, consistent with the Treaty of 1855, federal law, Executive Orders, and judicial decisions.”

• “The United States acknowledges that the Yakama Nation has no interest in promoting, condoning, or protecting criminal activities by its members; as such, the Yakama Nation will not intentionally harbor fugitives and desires to partner with the United States in law enforcement matters.”

• “The United States recognizes that maintaining a close and cooperative relationship with the Yakama Nation is essential to preventing and combating crime and assisting crime victims.”

• “The United States recognizes that in an age of increasingly complex criminal and national security threats, the common interests of the Yakama Nation and the federal government are best served by appropriate coordination, communication and information-sharing between the Parties.”

• “The Parties agree that it is in the best interests of both governments to identify practical ways to coordinate and communicate effectively with respect to law enforcement matters.”

• “Both Parties commit to acting in good faith to advance and act consistently with these goals.”

The operative provision of agreement provides:

In keeping with its law enforcement duties, DOJ law enforcement remains committed to communicating with Yakama Tribal Police concerning its law enforcement activities in Yakama Indian Country, as operational integrity concerns, including officer and public safety, permit, and will communicate with tribal police at the earliest prudent and practicable opportunity about enforcement operations undertaken in Yakama Indian Country (emphasis added).

In March 2011, the Yakama Nation sued federal law enforcement agencies and several local governments for violating these federal Treaty provisions when raiding a Yakama member-owned business on Yakama trust lands without providing any advance notice to Yakama authorities, and in turn barring Yakama Nation cops who arrived at the scene of the raid to help keep the peace.

Since the summer of 2012, the parties engaged in settlement discussions and negotiations. In June 2013, Yakama reached out-of court settlements with Yakima County, Benton County, and the local governments from Virginia and Mississippi (Yakima Herald Republic).