Jennifer Porter | |
---|---|
Tribal chair of the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho | |
Assumed office 2005 | |
Preceded by | Gary Aitken,Sr. |
Personal details | |
Born | c. 1974 (age 50–51) Navajo Nation,Fort Defiance |
Citizenship | United States |
Nationality | Navajo and Kootenai |
Children | 3 |
Jennifer Porter is the current tribal chair of the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho. [1] She was born on the Navajo Nation in Fort Defiance and is half Navajo and half Kootenai. [2] She replaced her uncle on the Kootenai Tribal Council when she was 23. Porter has promoted educational and cultural programs,including a computer program to teach students words from the Kutenai language. [3] She has three children,two of whom attend the Boundary County School District public school.
Porter has been active in efforts to save the Kootenai River white sturgeon. [4] [5]
In 2009,she signed an agreement with U.S. Customs and Border Protection "to develop an enhanced tribal card for the purpose of crossing the border with the U.S. and Canada". [6] In January 2012,the Kootenai Enhanced Tribal Card (ETC) was designated "as a travel document acceptable for entering into the United States through a land or sea port of entry". [7]