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Yakama Nation settles case over federal raid on reservation

Thursday, May 30, 2013

The Yakama Nation of Washington has settled a lawsuit in connection with a federal raid on the reservation, The Martinsville Bulletin reports.

The tribe sued the Obama administration after the FBI and other law enforcement agents raided King Mountain Tobacco Co., a tribal-licensed business that grows tobacco on the reservation. The FBI notified the tribe's commissioner of public safety via text message -- after the raid already started.

The suit included the city of Martinsville, Virginia. One officer from the city participated in the raid as part of an arrangement with the Department of Justice.

“We’re never going to lend our officers out to a Justice Department investigation again if they go near an Indian reservation,” Martinsville Police Chief Mike Rogers told the Bulletin.

DOJ took the lead in negotiations to resolve the suit, the paper reported. Other localities whose officers participated in the raid are covered by the settlement.

The settlement requires law enforcement authorities to notify the tribe before entering the reservation. The tribe had argued that the failure to notify violated the Yakama Treaty of 1855.

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Tribe suit is settled (The Martinsville Bulletin 5/30)