By KRWG News
Navajo Nation – FARMINGTON, N.M. (KRWG) Enrolled members of the Navajo Nation soon can ditch their green Certificates of Indian Blood in favor of new, tribal-issued identification cards.
The Daily Times reports (http://bit.ly/tWeWMV ) the Navajo Office of Vital Records will begin issuing the cards to tribal members on Nov. 11.
The cards will be issued first to 100 randomly selected people during a test run of the program.
The tribe has pushed for the creation of an ID card for the last decade. The cards are designed to boost convenience, security and privacy for tribal members.
Tribes increasingly are issuing cards to members to offer easier identification of American Indians and to streamline affairs with outside agencies.
After the initial test run, the Navajo Nation plans to issue ID cards from all five agencies on the 27,000-square-mile reservation.
___
Information from: The Daily Times, http://www.daily-times.com
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. KRWG