The Citizen Potawatomi Tag Agency was created to give tribal members a way to demonstrate their pride in their cultural heritage. The use of tribal tags can also mitigate some of the financial burden of registering a new car or renewing the registration on a presently owned automobile. Tribal leaders feel that tribal tags are an excellent way to recognize our tribal members and to demonstrate the impact of our tribal members within their communities.
However, it must be stressed that Citizen Potawatomi Nation motor vehicle tags remain the property of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Tribal motor vehicle tags are issued for exclusive use on motor vehicles owned by tribal members and registered to specific motor vehicles. It is critically important that members of the law enforcement community can readily identify the owner of a vehicle sporting one of our tribal tags. Therefore, tribal license plates are not transferable. Despite their registered use by tribal members, the plates remain the property of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation.
When a tag expires, it must either be renewed or returned to the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. In the unfortunate situation where a motor vehicle is destroyed or repossessed, the tribal member must secure the license plate with his or her other personal property in the vehicle.
Unfortunately, a number of Citizen Potawatomi motor vehicle tags have appeared on online auction sites like EBay. These sales are illegal. The buyers and sellers of our motor vehicle tags are guilty of trafficking in stolen property. {jb_quoteright} “In the same way that selling a tribal vehicle or computer online would be a crime, selling an expired tribal tag is illegal…As part of our duties, the tribal attorney’s office monitors the sale of tribal license plates and refers such sales to our tribal police and prosecutors.”{/jb_quoteright}Every application for the registration of a motor vehicle and every registration issued by the Citizen Potawatomi Tag Agency contain a signed, written reminder that “Tribal license plates are not transferable. Tribal license plates remain the property of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation and the license plate must be returned to the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Failure to return expired tags will result in criminal and civil penalties.”
In the same way that selling a tribal vehicle or computer online would be a crime, selling an expired tribal tag is illegal. It can also be very dangerous when a police officer stops a blue Buick displaying a license plate issued to a red Ford.
As part of our duties, the tribal attorney’s office monitors the sale of tribal license plates and refers such sales to our tribal police and prosecutors.
Tribal leaders and employees of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation take great pride in the services that we are able to offer our tribal members. Let’s enjoy those services in a safe and legal way.