Jurisdiction over Criminal Matters in Indian Country

The question of jurisdiction over crimes committed on Tribal lands depends on five main factors:

• Whether the victim is an Indian (generally a member of a federally recognized Indian tribe).
• Whether the accused is an Indian (generally a member of a federally recognized Indian tribe).
• Whether the alleged offense took place on tribal land (including, but not necessarily limited to “Indian country” as defined in federal law).
• Whether the alleged offense is a major crime as defined under federal law.
• Whether Public Law 280 or other relevant federal statutes have conferred jurisdiction upon the state.

For a complete discussion of the complicated issue of jurisdiction over crimes in Indian country, see the Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction page located on the Web site of the Tribal Court Clearinghouse www.tlpi.org, a comprehensive Web site maintained by the Tribal Law and Policy Institute .

Finding Other Tribal Law

Unlike federal and state law, locating tribal constitutions, statutes, and case law continues to be more challenging. Not all tribal law is available on-line. Many tribes still maintain constitutions, statutes, ordinances, and case law solely on paper filed at the appropriate offices. Additionally, unlike federal and state laws, most tribal codes are not updated annually. Researchers are encouraged to contact the tribal governments to ensure that they have the most recently enacted versions. The tribal law materials contained in VictimLaw are current through the most recent codified version readily available. Finally, tribal laws, codes, and constitutions are often structured differently than those applicable to federal and state law.

There are two very good sources for finding tribal law.

The National Indian Law Library, a project of the Native American Rights Fund, provides a catalog of tribal codes and constitutions: http://www.narf.org/nill/index.htm

The Tribal Court Clearinghouse www.tlpi.org provides updated links to tribal constitutions and codes: http://www.tribal-institute.org/lists/tribal_law.htm. The Clearinghouse also provides the most comprehensive searchable database of tribal court decisions: http://www.tribal-institute.org/lists/decision.htm.

To help you in finding the most current tribal statutory law, the Native American Rights Fund has established the National Indian Law Library Tribal Law Gateway. The Gateway provides catalog information for the most recent copies of tribal law. It also provides contact information for individual tribes and on-line locations (if any) for the law you are looking for. See their Web site for instructions on how to use the Gateway: http://www.narf.org/nill/triballaw/