Confederated Umatilla Journal - Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla ...

Yakamas to issue own
plates, registrations
HEAD START
ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS
Cay-Uma-Wa Head Start is accepting
applications for 3- and 4-year-old children
for the 2011-2012 school year.
If any of the following circumstances apply, you may be
automatically income eligible for
Head Start programs.
•If your family is currently receiving TANF benefits.
•If you family is currently receiving
Supplemental Security Income.
•If you have a foster child placed with you through CTUIR or
State of Oregon, DCFS.
•If your family is currently homeless.
By Phil Ferolito of the Yakima Herald Republic
YAKIMA, Wash. -- Rather than paying
an annual vehicle registration fee to the
state, Yakama tribal members will soon
be able to go to their own government for
plates and registrations.
Earlier this week, the tribe began a
pilot program to issue its own vehicle
registrations and tabs to several members.
By March, the program will open
to all members who will be able to travel
all roads throughout the country under
the tribe’s registration, according to a
Yakama Nation news release issued
Wednesday.
Although the state has been discussing
details of the program with the roughly
10,000-member tribe for nearly a year,
officials at the Department of Licensing
weren’t aware it was ready to launch,
according to spokesman Brad Benfield.
“At this point, those conversations are
still ongoing and we still have a lot of issues
with them,” he said. Among them,
he said, the state would like to have access
to the tribe’s database of registered
vehicles.
According to the tribe, all local authorities
will have access to tribal vehicle registration
by contacting Yakama tribal police
anytime of the day or night. The tribe said
it will also make information available to
top law enforcement agencies throughout
TULALIP, Wash. (AP) - The Tulalip
Tribes are giving $1.26 million to the
Marysville School District to rescue
programs threatened by the economic
downturn.
The Herald newspaper says the money
will help the district provide science
curriculum and professional development
for middle schools. It will provide
math materials, teacher training and two
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Warm
Springs tribal leaders plan to move
their existing casino from the isolated
Kah-Nee-Ta resort to a busier location
on Highway 26 near the town of Warm
Springs.
Tribal leader told The Oregonian it
the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Eventually, the tribe will join a national
database where vehicle registration
can be accessed by authorities, according
to the tribal news release.
Administered by the Yakama tribal police,
the program will abide by standards
outlined by the American Association
of Motor Vehicle Administrators, the
release said.
It’s not clear how much license plates
and annual tabs would cost tribal members.
Phone calls to tribal leaders were
not immediately returned.
A sovereign government, the Yakama
Nation holds a treaty with the federal
government and isn’t bound by state law
in many areas.
Asserting its sovereignty, the tribe is
following the example of other tribes in
other states who have for years operated
their own vehicle licensing programs.
Tribal governments began starting
up their own auto licensing programs
in 1993 after the Sac & Fox Nation won
a U.S. Supreme Court case against the
Oklahoma Tax Commission. The tribe
claimed that the state did not have a
right to tax tribal members through car
tab sales.
Several Oklahoma tribes, including
the Cherokee and Osage nations, have
auto licensing programs. In Minnesota,
the Red Lake Nation issues tribal licenses.
Tulalips give $1.2 million to local school district
to rescue programs threatened by economy
district math coaches. The tribe is also
helping the district pay for a new student
data system, cultural diversity training
for staff, all-day kindergarten and class
size reductions through the third grade.
The money is on top of what the tribes
already give the school district. In past
years, the tribes have given about $1.8
million annually for education initiatives.
WS want to move Kah-Nee-Ta nearer town, traffic
would be a temporary move to boost
revenue while they pursue the more lucrative
goal of putting a casino at Cascade
Locks, near Portland.
The temporary casino could open by
the end of the year in a tent-like structure.
The move require state approval.
Cay-Uma-Wa Head Start will serve a limited number of
families with special needs and if openings are available a
limited number of families who qualify as over-income.
At least 10% of total enrollment opportunities must be made available to children
who meet the definition of a child with a disability.
For information and an application, we welcome you to stop by or call the Cay-
Uma-Wa Head Start office located at the Tribal Education Building at (541) 429-
7835 or (541) 429-7820.
Applications are available at all Tribal Early Childhood
Education Programs and Yellowhawk Health Clinic at the Nutrition Office. The
offices are located on the Nixyaawii July Grounds Lane
on the Umatilla Indian Reservation.
46 Confederated Umatilla Journal
March 2011