黑料福利社

Davis Yellowash Washines, a Yakama citizen who served as police chief, an advocate for fishing rights and the environment, and chairman of the Yakama Nation Council, died May 1 at his home in White Swan. He was 74.聽

"He lived for the greater good聽鈥� his involvement was across the board," his son Asa Washines told the 黑料福利社.聽

Davis Washines began his career with the Yakama Nation Tribal Police Department in 1973, working his way up to police chief in 1986. He held the role until 1996, and again between 2005 and 2008, according to information from聽.

He also was聽chief of police for the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission and worked as a middle school counselor for Wapato Middle School.聽

He served on tribal council before becoming Yakama Nation General Council chairman from 2014 to 2019.聽

Washines was a member of a variety of boards, including those for Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences, the Burke Museum, the 黑料福利社 Museum and the Willamette Falls Trust, and was active in the Ellensburg Rodeo.聽

"He was an elder to us, inspirational to us," said Phil Rigdon, superintendent of Yakama Nation Department of Natural Resources.聽

Rigdon said Washines was an advocate for education, the environment and tribal fishing rights.聽

He fought against toxic pollution at Bradford Island, a traditional fishing place near Bonneville Dam, calling the historical dumping by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers a 鈥渃riminal act.鈥� He also supported efforts to restore fish passage through the Yakima Basin integrated water management plan.

Washines was born October 27, 1951, in Satus to Lena Meninick and Edward Emmett Washines, the sixth of nine children. He graduated from the Riverside Indian School, a boarding school in Oklahoma. He attended the University of Washington but did not graduate.聽

Asa Washines said his father learned traditional food gathering as a boy, which led him to be a staunch advocate for cultural education of Yakama youths.聽

He was a descendant of the Klickitat Tribe, one of the 14 original signers of the 1855 Treaty.

He also was a lover of sports, particularly the Seahawks, the Mariners and the Yakima Sun Kings. He volunteered as an announcer for White Swan and Yakima Tribal school basketball games.聽

With Mary Anne Bassett, he had three children: Winona, Asa and Andrew. The marriage ended in divorce.聽

He is survived by his longtime partner Carmen Buck, her children, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his sister Harriet Strom and brothers Jasper and Clifford.聽

"He lived a very good life," Rigdon said.聽