Tribal Tribulations -- Secretive Deals Still Reverberate

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By PHIL FEROLITO

YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

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Tribal Tribulations -- Secretive Deals Still Reverberate

Huge vats of apple, cranberry and orange juice are bottled daily at Yakama Juice, a Selah plant the Yakama Nation bought more than three years ago.

Just to the south in Yakima, a professional basketball team, the Sun Kings, heads into its third season under tribal ownership.

Tribal leaders behind the purchase of both operations say these were opportunities for the tribe to extend its business beyond the reservation, create jobs for tribal members and tap into the larger economy.

They say having the tribe's name on juice labels and basketball jerseys is good exposure and is rekindling a sense of pride among tribal members.

But some tribal leaders question the profitability of these operations, and an...

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