Pascua Yaqui Start Issuing Enhanced Tribal Cards to Members

Late last month, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe began issuing its new Enhanced Tribal Card (ETC) to its members, according to a press release jointly issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the tribe.

The ETC, which includes security features and radio frequency identification technology, was designed to be a Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI)-compliant document. It formally recognizes tribal membership and U.S. citizenship for the purpose of entering the United States through a land or sea port of entry.

WHTI is a joint initiative between DHS and the Department of State. It implements a key 9/11 Commission recommendation and Congressional mandate to establish document requirements for travelers entering the United States who were previously exempt, including citizens of the United States and Canada. WHTI requires all U.S. and Canadian citizens ages 16 and older to present a valid, acceptable travel document that denotes both identity and citizenship when entering the United States by land or sea.

The tribe, located approximately 60 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border, has more than 17,000 members, many of whom have relatives residing on both sides of the border. Both the tribe and its Yaqui cousins in Mexico regularly visit each other for religious, cultural and tribal purposes.

The Pascua Yaqui became the first tribe in Arizona to sign a Memorandum of Agreement with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for the development of an ETC in May 2009. Since then, CBP has signed similar agreements with the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, the Seneca of New York, the Tohono O'odham of Arizona and the Coquille of Oregon to develop WHTI-compliant ETCs. CBP is also currently working with about 15 other tribes across the country on the ETC initiative.

Tribal Court Bans Reporting on Enrollment Requirements

A tribal court judge for the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians is barring journalists from reporting on blood quantum and enrollment requirements of the tribe, according to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

 Judge Melissa Pope entered the injunction on February 19 in connection with a libel case against reporter Nancy Kelsey of Reznet and three other defendants. The libel complaint cited Kelsey’s e-mails, which were not part of a published story. Read more about it here.