Tribal Sovereignty and Courts
Tribal Sovereignty
American Indian tribes or nations governed their peoples and territories and resolved disputes long before the establishment of the United States, and they continue to exercise their inherent powers of self-government. The United States has recognized their governmental status and reserved lands in hundreds of treaties, statutes, and in court decisions dating back to the 1830s. As the Supreme Court noted in United States v. Wheeler, "Indian tribes . . . are self-governing sovereign political communities." 435 U.S. 313, 322 (1978). Today, more than 550 federally recognized Indian nations implement a wide range of governmental powers, which may include environmental protection, economic development, criminal justice, and taxation. Many also provide an array of services to their communities, such as education, fire protection, and child welfare. Although the United States is not the source of Indian nations' sovereignty, and Indian nations never participated in the formation of the United States constitution, Congress is authorized under United States law to limit or augment tribal powers.
Tribal Courts
One way Indian nations exercise their sovereignty is through their court or justice systems. A recent survey by the Bureau of Justice Statistics in the U.S. Department of Justice reports that 188 tribes in the lower 48 states have some type of judicial system, and 84% of those handle misdemeanor cases. Tribal court systems vary widely in their size and structure, hearing a range of cases arising under tribal codes and tribal customary and common law, from tort and contract disputes to enforcement actions against environmental polluters. In addition to trial courts of general jurisdiction, they may have juvenile courts, family courts, healing to wellness (drug) courts, and appellate courts. A growing number of Indian nations have been incorporating their traditional dispute resolution methods into their more formal judicial systems. The jurisdiction of tribal courts is a complex area of Indian law, and depends on issues such as whether the event took place on reservation land, and whether the parties involved are Indian.