NCJ Number
162810
Journal
Judicature Volume: 79 Issue: 3 Dated: (November-December 1995) Pages: 110- 112
Date Published
1995
Length
3 pages
Annotation
Tribal courts are now the major institutions that most often confront issues of American Indian self-determination and sovereignty while being responsible for providing reliable and equitable adjudication in the increasingly diverse matters that come before them.
Abstract
The significance of tribal courts is increasing as a result of the United States Supreme Court decisions in National Farmers Insurance Cos. v. Crow Tribe of Indians and Iowa Mutual Insurance v. LaPlante. In addition, the issues confronting tribal courts have broad significance not only for what happens on the reservation and in Indian country but also for the meaning and integrity of the dominant legal system and society as a whole. These larger themes include the history of relations between Indians and non-Indians and the development and understanding of sovereignty within the national republic, which is most often thought to contain only two sovereigns but in reality contains three. The Supreme Court decisions reaffirm the Federal policy of encouraging tribal self-determination and self-government. To achieve their mission, tribal courts need greater understanding, growing support, and continued recognition as the enduring forums for rendering justice and fair play throughout Indian country. Photographs and footnotes