NCJ Number
243782
Date Published
March 2013
Length
54 pages
Annotation
This report highlights promising strategies that have resulted from passage of Public Law 280.
Abstract
This report from the Tribal Law and Policy Institute highlights promising strategies that have resulted from passage of Public Law 280. In 1953 Congress enacted Public Law 280 (PL 280) to give certain named States criminal and civil jurisdiction on reservations and to withdraw most of the Federal Government's responsibility for criminal jurisdiction in Indian Country. In PL 280 jurisdictions, the overlapping jurisdiction of State and tribal courts over criminal prosecutions and civil actions often leads to complications and misunderstandings between different government agencies. This report highlights programs that were developed to overcome the difficulties arising in PL 280 jurisdictions. The programs were selected according to the following criteria: innovative, replicable, sustainable, culturally compatible, community component of services, respect for and enhancement of tribal authority, fairness, intergovernmental cooperation, and management effectiveness. The programs highlighted in this report include 1) Kake Peacemaking Court System, 2) Joint Powers Policing Agreement between the Hoopa Valley Tribe and the County of Humboldt, 3) Intergovernmental Policing Agreement between the Hopland Band of Pomo Indians and Various Federal and County Agencies, 4) State Peace Officer Status to Tribal Police in Oregon, 5) Intertribal Court of Southern California, 6) Memorandum of Understanding, Protecting of Battered Indian Women in Minnesota, 7) Washington State Joint - Executive Legislative Workgroup on Tribal Retrocession, 8) Wisconsin Joint Legislative Council's Special Committee on State - Tribal Relations, 9) Wisconsin State Gaming Appropriations and Policing Grants, 10) Wisconsin Tribal Judges Association, and 11) Tribal Representatives in the Maine Legislature.