The turf dispute between Klickitat County and the Yakama Nation is about to ramp up. The tribe says that as of next Tuesday, April 19, it will consider the town of Glenwood and a significant part of the Glenwood Valley — Tract D — part of their reservation. With the backing of the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), the Yakama Nation has won its fight for retrocession of the territory-for the moment. Starting Tuesday, the tribe will begin addressing law enforcement issues related to tribe members in that area.
The tribe will still have no jurisdiction over anyone who is not Native American, even with retrocession.
In a statement Monday from the Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Bob Songer wrote, “Klickitat County commisioners, Prosecutor David Quesnel, and Sheriff Bob Songer have been meeting over several months now with the BIA, Yakama Nation representatives, Yakama Tribal Police, an Assistant US Attorney, Yakima County Sheriff Winters, the Yakima County Prosecutor’s Office, police chiefs from Union Gap, Wapato, and Toppenish, along with the FBI and other officials in regards to retrocession.” Songer said the aim of retrocession for the Yakamas was the ability to govern themselves. He added, “The Yakama Nation, for years, has taken the position that Track D of the Treaty takes in Glenwood Valley and east to Grayback area.”
The issue is highlighted by the tribe in a posting last year: “The Yakama Nation Mt. Adams Recreation Area is a unique area of the Yakama Reservation. It is the only area within the Yakama Reservation forested boundary that is open to non-Yakama Tribal members. Ownership of this area has been in dispute dating back to the Treaty of 1855. An 1890 survey of the Yakama Reservation, accepted by the General Land Office, did not include the Tract-D area. The original treaty map, which included the Tract-D area, was found in 1930 after being misplaced for decades. In the meantime 98,000 acres of the Glenwood Valley had passed into private ownership. Another 21,000 acres were part of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest administered by the Department of Agriculture. After more than 100 years of dispute, in 1972 President Nixon by Executive Order 11670 authorized the return of the 21,000 acre portion of Mt. Adams, including the summit, to the Yakama Nation.”
The tribe has not responded to requests for comment, either recently or over the past year since the Tract D issue became more publicly visible.
In his statement, Songer said, “The County Commissioners, Prosecutor Quesnel, and I have taken the position that Track D of the Treaty is the current Yakama Reservation Boundary and does not include the town of Glenwood or any portion of the Glenwood Valley. Therefore we do not consider the town of Glenwood or any portion of Glenwood Valley part of the reservation.
“The Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office will be conducting law enforcement activities, responding to calls, taking reports, issuing citations, and making arrest as we have always done. All enforcement activity involving citations or arrest will be handled by our Prosecutor’s Office, not tribal court. All arrests made will be booked into the Klickitat County Jail. All citations issued will be cited into Klickitat County East or West District Court.”
Quesnel says the county will take action against the federal government, filing an appeal soon against the DOI. “On April 19 the Yakama Nation will have returned to them several areas of jurisdiction within the exterior boundaries of the reservation, including criminal and domestic relations law,” Quesnel states. “I applaud the Yakama Nation for the greater self-determination they about to enjoy. Unfortunately we disagree with the Nation, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, as to what constitutes the exterior boundaries of the reservation. Glenwood and the surrounding area are not within the exterior boundaries of the reservation, and the Yakama Nation has no jurisdiction. Attempts to reach out to resolve this issue have gone unanswered, and we have no choice but to initiate litigation to settle this generations-long boundary dispute once and for all. I assure you the officials of Klickitat County speak with one voice that we see no change in the status quo, and we will continue to serve and protect the citizens of Glenwood as we do now.”
Songer adds he plans to have additional deputies in the Glenwood area on Tuesday “to show law enforcement support for the citizens of Glenwood Valley. I don’t believe there will be any problems, but I just want to show strong support for the citizens.”
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