Tribe stands up for treaty rights

YAKIMA, Wash. -- A crowd of Yakama tribal members waving signs outside Yakima's federal courthouse Thursday in support of three tribal members on trial for selling untaxed cigarettes wasn't enough for the judge to sequester the jury.

Inside the courthouse, the trial of Harry and Jeanne Smiskin and their adult son, Kato, entered its fourth day.

Across the street from the courthouse, more than 50 tribal members held signs reading, "Our treaty can not be denied" and "Treaty rights are not a crime."

Demonstrators contend-ed that the three on trial are protected by the Yakama Nation's 1855 treaty with the United States.

At least three members of the 14-member Yakama Nation Tribal Council were among the demonstrators.

"We're just here to support our treaty rights," said Councilwoman Terry Goudy-Rambler. "We know the federal government is supposed to protect our treaty rights; we just want to remind them not to forget."

Councilwomen Ruth Jim and Fidelia Andy also participated in the demonstration.

"We have given up thousands of acres of land for our treaty, and our treaty stands before Washington was ever a state," Andy said.

Concerned that jurors may have been influenced by the demonstration, prosecutors asked U.S. District Judge Fred Van Sickle for the sequester.

Van Sickle sent court officials outside to count the number of signs and record their messages for his review.

He denied the prosecution's request to sequester the jury after jurors said they could continue to remain objective.

The Smiskins are charged with possession with intent to sell more than 4,000 cartons of untaxed cigarettes seized from a trailer outside their Wapato home in 2004.

Under the federal Cigarette Contraband Trafficking Act, wholesale and retail cigarettes are subject to state taxes.

But Yakamas are exempt from cigarette taxes on the reservation.

The Smiskins were originally charged with possessing and transporting untaxed cigarettes. But in a decision upheld in the U.S. Court of Appeals, a judge in 2006 dropped those charges against the Smiskins. Citing the treaty, the judge said they had a right to freely travel and bring goods to market.

Afterward, however, federal prosecutors charged the Smiskins with intent to sell untaxed cigarettes to buyers not protected under the treaty.