Trustee
Davis Washines, known as Yellowash, serves as the Government Relations Liaison with the Yakama Nation Fisheries Department. Prior to this appointment, he was Executive Chairman of the Yakama Nation General Council, He began his public service in 1973 with the Yakama Tribal Police Department and advanced through the ranks to Chief of Police in 1986. He served as YN Police Chief until 1996, after which he served one term on the Yakama Tribal Council and then as a middle school counselor. In 2005, he again was appointed YN Chief of Police until 2008. In 2010, he was appointed Chief of Police for the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, which consists of the following Columbia River Treaty Tribes; Yakama, Warm Springs, Umatilla and Nez Perce. Yellowash retired from law enforcement in August 2013, a career which spanned four decades. He was then elected Yakama Nation General Council Chairman in December, 2014. Yellowash is a recognized traditional and spiritual leader throughout Indian Country and has taught the Yakama language at local schools. One of his proudest achievements is when as, YN Police Chief, he led the effort to restore the original spelling of “Yakama” to the Yakama Nation as recorded is the US-Yakama Treaty of 1855.
