YAKAMA NATION PLANS TO OPEN TRIBAL DRUG COURT

TOPPENISH, Wash. - The Yakama Nation expects a first-of-its-kind
tribal drug court to be up and running next year, and its chief judge
says it's an idea whose time has come.

By breaking the cycle of drugs and crime, the courts reduce the number
of jail inmates and repeat offenders and save money, said Rory Flint
Knife, who became the Yakama Nation's chief judge last May.

A three-year federal Justice Department grant will pay initial costs,
said Anna Ward, tribal court deputy director.

Sixteen other American Indian tribes, including the Spokane and Makah
in Washington, currently have either juvenile or adult drug courts,
Flint Knife said.

``We would be the first tribe in the nation to have both kinds of
courts,'' he said.

The drug court will be voluntary and open to all nonviolent offenders
who come into tribal court.