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Essay On Native American Law And Jurisdiction

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Public Law 83-280 was passed by Congress in 1953 to provide some states criminal jurisdiction over Native Americans living on reservations and to allow state courts to handle civil cases that had previously been handled by tribe or federal courts. The bill did not provide states the authority to regulate tribes or properties held in trust by the federal government, nor did it offer them the authority to impose state taxes or confer federally guaranteed tribal hunting, trapping, and fishing rights. From 1953 to now, Native American law and jurisdiction have been changed drastically through the U.S. congress and new court cases that helped shape the modern-day Native American law and jurisdiction system. The system is now independent and responsible …show more content…

However Native American jurisdiction is unstable due to authority being taken away from the jurisdiction when being able to decide felony cases. Source B is an article posted by the New York Times. The article summarizes the history of Native law and jurisdiction using many court cases and laws passed. The article expresses a negative view of the current system because of the lack of resources and authority. In Source B the author talks about Crow Dog and the consequences that came with it. Congress responded to Crow Dog by initiating the Major Crimes Act. But, the Major Crimes Act, ensured that Native Americans would never again be able to decide the outcome of any severe felony case. Yet, it has not benefited Native Americans. Due in part to the Major Crimes Act, crime rates on reservations are currently far higher than the national average for almost every serious violation. Criminal justice enforcement is frequently chaotic and disorganized on many reservations due to the jurisdictional complexities of pursuing these matters. Many questions occur while determining the ruling of a case of a felony offense, such as “Is the victim a Native American? What about the offender? Did the crime take place on Native territory?” Due to these questions, many felony offenses end up ruling in favor of the non-native, making crime rates go up and easier to get away …show more content…

However tribal sovereignty does not nearly give enough power to Native Americans making it difficult for Native Americans to have a voice in the judicial system. Source C is a court casing ruling titled 5-4 Ruling. The ruling discusses how it led up to the case and how it was ruled. In a decision that overturned centuries of custom and practice, the Supreme Court decided on the second-to-last day of the 2021–2022 term that Oklahoma, along with all other states, has concurrent jurisdiction with the federal government over crimes committed by non-Natives against Native Americans in Native countries. The article mentions how this changes years of tradition, “wiping away centuries of tradition and practice.” Despite Native Americans finally getting more power, it has taken years to do so. As the quote states this changes history. In the past, only the Federal government had control over many court cases and would often rule in favor of the non-Native. This was ignored and disregarded until now when things are just starting to make change. The court ruling grants more power to tribal sovereignty after years of being ignored and silenced because of the U.S. government. The Round House shows the lack of tribal sovereignty. The book opens up with an imagery piece that has symbolism behind it, “Small trees had attacked my parent’s house at the foundation…

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