Research in Brief 

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

National Institute of Justice

Public Law 280 and Law Enforcement in 

Indian Country—Research Priorities

www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij 

D

E

C. 0

5
U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

810 Seventh Street N.W.

Washington, DC 20531

Alberto R. Gonzales

Attorney General

Regina B. Schofield

Assistant Attorney General

Glenn R. Schmitt

Acting Director, National Institute of Justice

This and other publications and products

of the National Institute of Justice can be

found at:

National Institute of Justice

www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij

Office of Justice Programs

Partnerships for Safer Communities

www.ojp.usdoj.gov
DEC. 05

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Duane

Champagne, Professor of

Sociology and American

Indian Studies at the University of California–Los

Angeles (UCLA), who

assisted with methodology issues and arranging

funding to support the

pilot study. Thanks also to

Joe Doherty with the

UCLA School of Empirical

Research Group, who

guided the authors in

designing the data

collection instrument.

Public Law 280 and Law Enforcement in

Indian Country—Research Priorities

Findings and conclusions of the research reported here are those of the

authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the

U.S. Department of Justice.

This Research in Brief is based on the authors’ paper commissioned for the

National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Strategic Planning Meeting on Crime and

Justice Research in Indian Country, held October 14–15, 1998, in Portland,

Oregon. Support was provided by NIJ, with transfer of funds from the

Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Office of Community Oriented Policing

Services, the Office for Victims of Crime, the Office of Juvenile Justice and

Delinquency Prevention, and the Office on Violence Against Women.

NCJ 209839
RESEARCH IN BRIEF / DEC. 05

ABOUT THIS REPORT

Enacted  in 1953, Public Law

83–280 (PL 280) shifted Federal jurisdiction over offenses

involving Indians in Indian

country to six States and

gave other States an option

to assume such jurisdiction.

Affected tribes and States

have faced obstacles in

complying with the statute,

including jurisdictional uncertainty and insufficient funding

for law enforcement. Yet,

scant research exists on this

issue. In 1998 the National

Institute of Justice (NIJ)

sponsored a review that

identified significant gaps in

data concerning crime and

law enforcement on PL 280

reservations.

What did the

researchers find?

Data collection difficulties

may hamper future research:

Some States and localities

may not document response

times to reservation­initiated

crime reports, and PL 280

data needed from the Bureau

of Indian Affairs may be

inseparable from statistics

for non­PL 280 jurisdictions.

Because crime may be

unreported or underreported

in PL 280 jurisdictions, victimization surveys may be

needed to supplement available data on reported­crime

rates in these jurisdictions.

Research is also needed on:

❋ Measurable aspects of the

quality of State law enforcement under PL 280,

such as police response

times to crime reports

from reservations.

❋ Documentation of Federal

funding and services to

tribes in PL 280 jurisdictions, including such factors

as jurisdictional vacuums.

❋ Concurrent tribal jurisdiction

and enhancement of State/

tribal relationships through

cooperative agreements.

Who should read 

this report?

Federal, State, and local

elected officials and policymakers; tribal officials and

advocates; law enforcement

and other criminal justice 

professionals, including

researchers.

ii
PL 280 AND LAW ENFORCEMENT

Carole Goldberg and Heather Valdez Singleton

Public Law 280 and Law

Enforcement in Indian Country—

This summary is based

upon: Goldberg, Carole,

and Heather Valdez Singleton, “Research Priorities: Law Enforcement in

Public Law 280 States,”

unpublished paper, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, National

Institute of Justice, October 14–15, 1998, NCJ

209926, available at

www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/

nij/grants/209926.pdf.

About the Authors

Carole Goldberg is

Professor of Law at

the University of 

California–Los Angeles

(UCLA) and Director 

of UCLA’s Joint Degree

Program in Law and

American Indian Studies.

Heather Valdez Singleton

is Research Associate,

UCLA American Indian

Studies Center.

Research Priorities

States lack criminal jurisdiction over crimes committed

by or against Indians in Indian

country unless Federal legislation expressly grants such

authority. Absent that legislation, tribal and Federal law

enforcement generally share

authority over those crimes,

although a realm of exclusive

tribal jurisdiction also exists.

A significant number of Indian tribes fall under State

jurisdiction under Public

Law 83–280 (PL 280).1

What is Public

Law 280?

Congress passed PL 280 in

1953. The statute mandated

shifting Federal criminal jurisdiction over offenses involving Indians in Indian country

to certain States and gave

other States an option to

assume such jurisdiction in

the future. State jurisdiction

over Indians outside Indian

country was unchanged.

Retrocession. A 1968

amendment to PL 2802

contained a retrocession 

“Indian country” is defined at

18 U.S.C. 1151 as follows:

. . . (a) all land within the limits

of any Indian reservation under

the jurisdiction of the United

States Government, notwithstanding the issuance of any

patent, and including the

rights­of­way through the

reservation, (b) all dependent

Indian communities within the

borders of the United States

whether within the original or

subsequently acquired territory

thereof, and whether within or

without the limits of a state,

and (c) all Indian allotments,

the titles to which have not

been extinguished, including

rights­of­way running through

the same.

provision enabling a State that

had previously assumed jurisdiction over Indians under the

law to return all or some of

its jurisdiction to the Federal

Government, contingent

on approval from the U.S.

Department of the Interior.

The amendment did not permit Indians either to veto

State initiatives to retrocede

or to impose retrocession
RESEARCH IN BRIEF / DEC. 05

on unwilling States. Subsequent bills to allow tribally 

initiated retrocession have

failed in Congress and State

legislatures.

Need for more research.

Tribes and States have voiced

concerns about some of PL

280’s consequences, including perceived jurisdictional

uncertainty and insufficient

funding for law enforcement.

Despite these concerns and

the law’s importance to Federal Indian policy and law

enforcement, little research

has been done to determine

the law’s impact. The authors

identified some key areas for

future research:

❋ Quantitative research comparing reported­crime rates

in Indian country affected

by PL 280 with rates in

reservations not so affected and with rates in other

parts of PL 280 States.

❋ Quantitative research bearing on the quality of State

law enforcement services

under PL 280.

❋ Documentation and evaluation of Federal law enforcement funding and services

URRENT A LAW E INDIAN C

rently supporting an investigation of the 

forcement agencies under PL 280. Researchers

are studying 17 reservations in 10 States with

and without PL 280 jurisdiction. Project objectives are to—

❋ 

ject to PL 280 with rates on reservations

❋ Determine the quality and availability of

PL 280.

❋ Evaluate Federal law enforcement and 

criminal justice funding and services to

❋ Evaluate retrocession, concurrent jurisdiction, and cooperative agreements as options

to alleviate problems in PL 280 jurisdictions.

❋ Explore possible administrative and legislative responses to PL 280.

The researchers will produce a final report to

NIJ and will disseminate relevant data and

findings to study participants through teleconferences and written summaries of findings

offered to tribes that request help in drafting

documents such as cooperative agreements.

Study results are expected by 2006.

A C SSESSMENT OF NFORCEMENT IN OUNTRY

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is curexperiences of Indian tribes and local law enCompare crime rates on reservations subnot subject to PL 280.

law enforcement and criminal justice under

PL 280 tribes.

relevant to particular sites. Services will be

2
PL 280 AND LA W ENFORCEMENT

to tribes subject to PL 280

jurisdiction.

❋ Qualitative assessment of

law enforcement under PL

280, e.g., examining

whether and to what

extent jurisdictional

vacuums exist.

❋ Evaluation of the impacts

of retrocession and concurrent tribal jurisdiction.

❋ Review of cooperative

agreements in PL 280

States, such as between

tribe and State.

A major study sponsored by

the National Institute of Justice is investigating some of

these areas (see “A Current

Assessment of Law Enforcement in Indian Country”).

PL 280 highlights

Affected States and tribes.

PL 280 transferred Federal

criminal jurisdiction in Indian

country to six States that

could not refuse jurisdiction,

known as “mandatory”

States (see exhibit 1). The

law did not provide for the

consent of affected tribes.

Thus, criminal laws in those

States became effective over

Indians within as well as outside Indian country. PL 280

provided no financial support

for the newly established

State law enforcement

responsibilities.

Exhibit 1. States affected by PL 280

Mandatory Statesa Optional Statesb

Alaska

California

Minnesotac

Nebraskac

Oregonc

Wisconsinc

Arizona

Florida

Idahoc

Iowa

Montanac

Nevadac

North Dakotac

South Dakota

Utah

Washingtonc

a. Tribes excluded from State jurisdiction by PL 280 were Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon and

the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians in Minnesota.

b. Some of the optional States made their acceptance of PL 280 jurisdiction contingent on tribal or individual Indian consent that

was never forthcoming. Other optional States accepted jurisdiction over very limited subject areas.

c. Contains some tribes that have retroceded.

3
RESEARCH IN BRIEF / DEC. 05

The law also permitted other

States, at their option and

without consulting tribes, to

choose to assume complete

or partial jurisdiction over

crimes committed by or

against Indians in Indian

country. Ten States chose

to do so; these are referred

to as “optional” States (see

exhibit 1). In 1968, an amendment to PL 280 required tribal consent before additional

States could extend jurisdiction to Indian country. Since

1968, no tribe has consented.

Through PL 280’s retrocession provision, several

mandatory and optional

States have returned jurisdiction over nearly 30 tribes to

the Federal government,

thereby reinstating tribal/

Federal responsibility for law

enforcement.

PL 280’s scope in terms of

affected tribes and Indian

population is put into perspective once the broad contours of Indian country are

sketched. Federally recognized tribes are spread

across 56 million acres in

the contiguous 48 States and

millions of additional acres in

Alaska. Of the 562 federally

recognized tribes, more than

330 live in the contiguous

48 States. The U.S. Census

Bureau estimates an Indian

population of about 2,786,652

(including Alaska Natives), or

0.9 percent of the estimated

U.S. population in 2003.3 All

but an estimated 106,450 live

in the contiguous 48 States.

Almost half of this population

does not live on a reservation

and is therefore subject to

State authority independent

of PL 280.

About 23 percent of the

reservation­based tribal population in the contiguous 48

States and all Alaska Natives4

fall under PL 280. The statute

covers 28 percent of all federally recognized tribes in the

contiguous 48 states and 70

percent of all federally recognized tribes (including Alaska

Native villages).

Criminal jurisdiction. Many

unusual challenges confront

policing in Indian country

(see “Overview of Policing in

Indian Country”). One is

determining criminal jurisdiction, which may lie with Federal, State, or tribal agencies

depending on such considerations as the identity of the

alleged offender and victim

and the nature and location

of the offense.

4
PL 280 AND LAW ENFORCEMENT

O P INDIAN C

Aside from jurisdictional issues, policing on Indian reservations faces many difficulties that

law enforcement elsewhere generally need not confront, at least to the same extent. Data

collected by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, for example, suggest that violent victimization

among American Indians and Alaska Natives exceeds that of other racial or ethnic subgroups

by about 2.5 times the national average.a

Indian country serves a population of 10,000 residing in an area about the size of Delaware

patrolled by no more than 3 officers at any one time.b Even so, many reservation residents live

in areas with characteristics of suburban and urban locales. Researchers found that the overall workload of Indian country police departments has been increasing significantly in intensity

and range of problems—driven by rising crime, heightened police involvement in social concerns related to crime, and increased demand for police services.

The study reported that most police departments in Indian country are administered by tribes

under contract with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The second most common type of

department management is direct BIA administration. Under the former arrangement, law

State and local authorities supply police services to tribes not affected by retrocession in PL

280 States.

Of Indian country police departments surveyed, the researchers found:c

Officers that were Native American 66%

Officers that were women 12%

Native American officers who were members of the tribe they serve 56%

Officers who were unable to speak the language native to the 

community they serve 87%

American Indians and Crime

assault. The report (p. 10) notes that of Indian victims of violent crime who could perceive whether offenders had used

alcohol and/or drugs, 71 percent indicated that such usage was a factor in the crimes. That compares to 51 percent for

violent crimes against all races.

Policing on American Indian

Reservations,

VERVIEW OF OLICING IN OUNTRY

According to a National Institute of Justice­supported study, a typical police department in

enforcement personnel are tribal employees; under the latter, they are Federal employees.

Notes

a. Perry, Steven W., , Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics,

December 2004, NCJ 203097: iii; 4–6. Violent victimization comprises rape/sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated/simple

b. Wakeling, Stewart, Miriam Jorgensen, Susan Michaelson, and Manley Begay, 

Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, July 2001, NCJ 188095: vi; available at www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/nij/188095.pdf.

c. Ibid.: 25.

5
RESEARCH IN BRIEF / DEC. 05

Exhibit 2 shows how those

considerations pertain to

criminal jurisdiction in PL

280 States. For example, law

enforcement often must consider such questions as: Is

the alleged perpetrator or victim Indian or non­Indian? Is

the crime major or minor;

victimless or not? Did the

offense occur in a PL 280

mandatory or optional State?

Court decisions have attempted to define the jurisdictional

contours of PL 280; however,

they have also raised some

areas of uncertainty:

❋ Regulatory versus prohibitory laws. The U.S.

Supreme Court has

declared that “regulatory”

rather than “prohibitory”

State criminal laws are outside the scope of jurisdiction conferred by PL 280.5

This distinction eludes clear

definition and has generated considerable litigation.

❋ Local versus State laws.

Some judicial decisions

reject application of local

law to residents of Indian

reservations under PL 280.6

The U.S. Supreme Court

Exhibit 2. Indian country criminal jurisdiction as conferred by PL 280

Offender Victim Jurisdiction

Non­Indian Non­Indian State jurisdiction is exclusive of Federal and tribal jurisdiction.

Non­Indian Indian Mandatory State has jurisdiction exclusive of Federal and tribal jurisdiction. 

Optional State and Federal Government have jurisdiction. There is no

tribal jurisdiction.

Indian Non­Indian Mandatory State has jurisdiction exclusive of Federal Government but not 

necessarily of the tribe. Optional State has concurrent jurisdiction with the

Federal courts.

Indian Indian Mandatory State has jurisdiction exclusive of Federal Government but not

necessarily of the tribe. Optional State has concurrent jurisdiction with tribal

courts for all offenses and concurrent jurisdiction with the Federal courts for

those offenses listed in 18 U.S.C. 1153.

Non­Indian Victimless State jurisdiction is exclusive, although Federal jurisdiction may attach in an

optional State if impact on individual Indian or tribal interest is clear.

Indian Victimless There may be concurrent State, tribal, and in an optional State, Federal

jurisdiction. There is no State regulatory jurisdiction.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice, “Jurisdictional Summary,” U.S. Attorneys’ Manual, Title 9, Criminal Resource Manual 689.

Retrieved October 24, 2004, from the World Wide Web: www.usdoj.gov/usao/eousa/foia_reading_room/usam/title9/

crm00689.htm.

6
PL 280 AND LAW ENFORCEMENT

has not ruled on this 

question.

❋ Concurrent tribal jurisdiction. Most Federal and tribal justice systems that have

addressed the issue of concurrent tribal jurisdiction in

PL 280 States have determined that such jurisdiction

exists. PL 280 contains no

language removing tribal

jurisdiction. The U.S.

Supreme Court has not

ruled on this matter either.

But the Office of Tribal Justice, U.S. Department of

Justice, concluded in 2000

that “Indian tribes retain

concurrent criminal jurisdiction over Indians in PL 280

States.”7

❋ Gaming offenses. Language in the Indian Gaming

Regulatory Act of 1988

suggests that Federal criminal jurisdiction will supersede State jurisdiction in

PL 280 States with respect

to gaming offenses. That

has been contested by

several States, including

California.8

PL 280 did not provide for

the consent of affected tribes

and did not provide financial

support for the newly established State law enforcement

responsibilities. It also did

not expressly abolish tribal

justice system jurisdiction,

diminish the Federal Government’s overall trust responsibility to tribes, or reject

Federal obligations to provide

services to tribes other than

Federal law enforcement.

Tribal and State 

concerns

Some tribes have voiced

complaints that Federal funding was reduced for decades

as a result of PL 280. In

recent years, the U.S.

Department of Justice has

provided funding to tribes in

PL 280 States, including

funds for victims of crime,

violence against women,

community­based policing,

and court development.

Other concerns voiced by

PL 280 tribes include the

absence of effective law

enforcement, infringement

of tribal sovereignty, and confusion about jurisdiction

when criminal activity has

occurred or presents a threat.

State and local law enforcement agencies’ criticisms of

PL 280 typically focus on the

absence of Federal funding

for State law enforcement

7
RESEARCH IN BRIEF / DEC. 05

services within Indian country

or on difficulties in carrying

out State law enforcement

obligations because of

uncertainty about the scope

of State jurisdiction and officers’ unfamiliarity with tribal

communities.

Why more research 

is needed

Empirical research in the

criminal justice field tends to

focus on Indians as ethnic

groups or on Indians in nonPL 280 States.9 But the shortage of research on PL 280

has not gone unnoticed. A

1998 study funded by NIJ

noted the absence of

research concerning crime in

Indian country in PL 280

States and recommended

“a DOJ study devoted to

the unique problems of law

enforcement on reservations

subject to PL 280.”10 Another

NIJ­supported study cited

“limited research on policing

in Indian country” and suggested comprehensive

research on law enforcement

under PL 280.11

Qualitative studies of PL

280’s impact. Two major

studies that focused on PL

280 have been completed—

a 1974 survey of Indians in

Washington, an optional

State, and a 1995 survey of

Indians in the mandatory

State of California.12 Neither

study exhausted the research

potential of PL 280.

The Washington study’s main

purpose was to document

Indian residents’ perceptions

of State jurisdiction.13 About

half of the Indians surveyed

felt they were treated poorly

or indifferently by State,

county, or local police. Juvenile matters were of greatest

concern to most interviewees. Their next greatest concerns were violent crimes,

traffic laws, narcotics, trespass, and theft. Respondents

expressed an unusually high

degree of uncertainty about

the agencies responsible for

law enforcement in their tribal territories, and State and

local law enforcement personnel seemed equally concerned by the confusion.

Whether the problems identified by the study continue to

plague Indian country in

Washington State is

unknown, however, and its

single­State focus limits its

general applicability to other

States.

8
PL 280 AND LAW ENFORCEMENT

Part of the questionnaire used

in the more recent Californiabased survey probed tribes’

experience and satisfaction

with State law enforcement.

Tribal concerns about jurisdictional confusion, inadequate

or untimely response, and

insensitive or discriminatory

treatment were evident.

Mentioned frequently were

problems with drugs and violent crimes. The researchers

concluded that limited and

uncertain State jurisdiction

under PL 280, coupled with

the absence of tribal justice

systems and law enforcement,14 created situations

where no legal remedies

existed. Consequently, tribal

members sometimes

engaged in self­help that

erupted, or threatened to

erupt, into violence.

The California study is not a

definitive qualitative assessment of PL 280 because of

its limited breadth of coverage. Factors affecting tribes

in California may have rendered their PL 280 experience atypical and thus not

representative of the law’s

overall impact on PL 280

States.

Quantitative research on PL

280’s impact. No quantitative studies of the impact of

PL 280 on tribes and local

law enforcement exist. Federal, tribal, and State authorities do not compile data

needed for such research.15

For example, most tribes in

PL 280 jurisdictions do not

report crime data to the

Bureau of Indian Affairs’

Crime Analysis Division.

For many years, no tribal law

enforcement agency under

PL 280 jurisdiction responded

to FBI requests for crime statistics. That began to change

in the mid­1990s as tribes

enhanced their law enforcement and justice systems

with resources from the U.S.

Department of Justice’s

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. Still,

reporting crime data to the

FBI and accessing crime

information systems remains

a challenge for tribal law

enforcement agencies.

The authors have tried with

limited success to construct

usable crime data for California Indian country. Countylevel data represent the best

9
RESEARCH IN BRIEF / DEC. 05

source, but several county

sheriffs’ offices claim that

crimes committed in Indian

country often are not 

reported.

Research priorities

The lack of data on PL 280

presents a serious impediment to understanding the

unique set of problems associated with State jurisdiction

in Indian country. As noted

earlier, there are several

areas of concern.

Measuring crime rates. Serious policy analysis must

begin by obtaining the best

available data on reportedcrime rates in Indian country

affected by PL 280. Toevaluate the impact of State criminal justice jurisdiction

compared with the Federal

and tribal jurisdiction applicable without PL 280, a desirable approach would be to

document the experience in

States (mandatory and

optional) affected by the

statute, States that assumed

partial versus complete PL

280 jurisdiction, and States

with and without tribal justice

systems. These data should

be compared with the best

crime rate data available from

similar reservations in States

not affected by PL 280 and

with crime rate data for other

comparable parts of the PL

280 States.

For particular reservations,

comparisons should be

drawn between crime data

before and after a State’s

assumption of PL 280 jurisdiction and before and after a State or tribe retroceded

jurisdiction under the statute.

If data sources are unavailable, documenting the current situation would lay the

groundwork for future longitudinal studies.

Because crime may be

underreported in a PL 280

State, research on crime victimization is needed. If relevant victimization data are

not available, separate surveys should be undertaken.

Measuring State law

enforcement response

under PL 280. For the same

States and time periods

noted in the preceding recommendation, researchers

should determine the time

required for police to respond

to crime reports. If State and

local law enforcement do not

already document response

time, the Federal Government should support and

fund research to provide the

10
PL 280 AND LAW ENFORCEMENT

data. To make appropriate

comparisons, documentation

of Federal and tribal response

times in areas of their jurisdiction is necessary.

Another useful comparison

would be the frequency of

complaints filed against

police by reservation residents in PL 280 States versus those by residents in

other parts of those States or

by residents of non­PL 280

reservations.

Documenting and evaluating Federal support. The

Department of Justice 

provides direct block grant

and formula funds to States.

Tribes are eligible to access

those resources for law

enforcement services. A

review of these awards to

tribes in PL 280 jurisdictions

as subgrantees should

assess the degree to which

they access those funds and

whether funding under some

law enforcement programs is

systematically denied. For

example, researchers at the

University of California–Los

Angeles (UCLA) conducting a

survey of California tribes for

the Advisory Council on California Indian Policy estimated

that Bureau of Indian Affairs

per capita funding for Indians

in PL 280 jurisdictions within

California was one­quarter to

one­half the funding level for

all other Indians served by

the agency.16

Assessing the quality of

law enforcement under PL

280. Ideally, the UCLA survey

should be replicated and its

content amplified for a sample of additional tribes in California, a sample of tribes in

other PL 280 States, and a

comparison sample of similar

tribes in non­PL 280 States

and retroceded tribes. Such a

comparative assessment

across States—administered

in an interview format to

allow for more open­ended

responses—would identify

existing strategies and

arrangements that may offer

more effective law enforcement solutions within the

framework of PL 280.

Among the many topics that

this survey could address are

governmental provision of

law enforcement services,

the responsiveness of such

services, the quality of investigations, the nature and

extent of tribal members’

understanding of PL 280,

identification of jurisdictional

vacuums, and views on 

retrocession.

11
RESEARCH IN BRIEF / DEC. 05

The qualitative assessment

should also interview State

and local law enforcement

officials involved in carrying

out PL 280’s mandate in

order to determine patrol

practices and response

times, communication and

interaction with tribal communities about law enforcement priorities and practices,

funding associated with PL

280 jurisdiction, and how

confusion about PL 280 may

affect law enforcement 

practices.

These surveys would provide

essential preliminary data

and identify problems requiring more intensive study.

Evaluating the impact of

retrocession and concurrent jurisdiction. Many

tribes dissatisfied with State

jurisdiction under PL 280

have responded with retrocession campaigns and

development of tribal institutions that can exercise concurrent jurisdiction.17

Evaluations could identify

the reasons for retrocession

campaigns; the perceived

benefits and disadvantages

of retrocession; changes in

crime rates since retrocession; and policies and practices at the State, tribal, and

Federal levels that contribute

to successful retrocession.

Even without retrocession,

some tribes have exercised

criminal jurisdiction within

the framework of PL 280 and

limits imposed by the Indian

Civil Rights Act. Unlike retrocession, this strategy does

not require consent or initiative from the State, although

it may require cooperation

from Federal funding

sources. If research determines that concurrent jurisdiction achieves many of the

same objectives as retrocession, tribes in PL 280 States

may already possess the

means to rectify local problems associated with PL 280.

But, apart from legal issues,

questions arise about the

effectiveness of this

approach as an alternative to

retrocession. For example,

concurrent jurisdiction may

engender conflict or competition between State and tribal

institutions. Research is

needed to determine best

practices and methods of

allocating law enforcement

and prosecutorial responsibili­ ty and to identify effective

models for cooperative

agreements to facilitate concurrent jurisdiction.

Cooperative agreements.

Jurisdictional conflicts

between States and tribes

have engendered bitterness

and costly litigation. 

12
PL 280 AND LAW ENFORCEMENT

Tribal–State agreements may

ease such conflicts while

supplying needed services to

tribal communities within a

framework of mutual consent. Research is needed to

identify and analyze existing

agreements in PL 280 States,

assess their value for law

enforcement from tribal and

Sate perspectives, and suggest possible modifications

and improvements. Such

agreements can allocate

prosecutorial responsibility in

a concurrent jurisdiction situation or provide for crossdeputization.

An evaluation of Federal–

State agreements should

also be included in any comprehensive assessment of

potential benefits from cooperative agreements.

Summing up

The research suggested here

not only could initiate more

systematic and ongoing data

collection for crime rates in

Indian country subject to PL

280 jurisdiction, but also generate better understanding of

the efficacy of State criminal

jurisdiction in Indian country.

Findings could, in turn, lead

to further study to explore

possible Federal policies to

improve law enforcement

within reservations affected

by PL 280. Researchers also

may want to review the

responsibilities of the U.S.

Departments of Justice and

Interior as well as other Federal agencies that might

assist tribes in developing

their own justice systems.

Also recommended for

review are possible congressional responses, such as

legislation clarifying the grant

of State jurisdiction, affirming

concurrent tribal jurisdiction,

encouraging voluntary interjurisdictional arrangements

between tribes and States

under PL 280, or authorizing

tribally initiated retrocession.

Notes

1. Act of August 15, 1953, ch. 505,

67 Stat. 588 (codified as 18 U.S.C.

1162, 28 U.S.C. 1360, and other scattered sections in 18 and 28 U.S.C.).

Other Federal statutes, enacted

before and after PL 280, provided for

State criminal jurisdiction over some

tribes in some States. Those statutes

are not within the scope of this

Research in Brief. In addition to

granting the affected States criminal

jurisdiction over Indian country, PL

280 opened their courts to civil litigation previously possible only in tribal

or Federal courts.

2. Act of April 11, 1968, Public Law

90–284, § 403, 82 Stat. 79 (codified

at 25 U.S.C. 1323).

13
RESEARCH IN BRIEF / DEC. 05

3. Population Division, U.S. Census

Bureau, Table 4: “Annual Estimates

of the Population by Race Alone and

Hispanic or Latino Origin for the

United States: July 1, 2003”

(SC–EST2003–04). Retrieved

October 26, 2004, from the World

Wide Web: www.census.gov/

popest/states/asrh/tables/SCEST2003­04.pdf.

4. As a result of the U.S. Supreme

Court decision in Alaska v. Native

Village of Venetie Tribal Government

522 U.S. 520 (1998), little Indian

country remains in Alaska. Consequently, little territory is left in Alaska

where the State requires Federal

authorization to exercise Indian country jurisdiction.

5. California v. Cabazon Band of

Mission Indians, 480 U.S. 202, 209

(1987).

6. For example, in Santa Rosa Band

of Indians v. Kings County, 532 F.2d

655 (9th Cir. 1975), the Ninth Circuit

held that the county could not apply

zoning and building codes to tribal

land.

7. Office of Tribal Justice, U.S.

Department of Justice, “Concurrent

Tribal Authority Under Public Law

83–280,” position paper, November

9, 2000, available at www.tribalinstitute.org/lists/concurrent_tribal.

htm.

8. Sycuan Band of Mission Indians v.

Roache, 38 F.3d 402, 407 (9th Cir.

1994), amended 54 F.3d 535 (1995).

9. See “American Indian Criminality:

What Do We Really Know?” in

American Indians: Social Justice and

Public Policy, Donald E. Green and

Thomas V. Tonneson, eds., Madison,

WI: The University of Wisconsin

System, 1991; Green, Donald E.,

“The Contextual Nature of American

Indian Criminality,” American Indian

Culture and Research Journal

17(2)(1993); and Native Americans,

Crime, and Justice, Marianne

Nielson and Robert Silverman, eds.,

Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1996.

10. Lujan, Carol C., James Riding In,

and Rebecca Tsosie, ”Justice in

Indian Country: A Process Evaluation

of the U.S. Department of Justice

Indian Country Justice Initiative—

Final Evaluation Report,” Final report

for the National Institute of Justice,

grant number 96–IJ–CX–0097, 1998,

NCJ 181048: 23.

11. Wakeling, Stewart, Miriam

Jorgensen, Susan Michaelson, and

Manley Begay, Policing on American

Indian Reservations, NIJ Research

Report, Washington, DC: U.S.

Department of Justice, National

Institute of Justice, 2001, NCJ

188095: 1, 3. Law enforcement

under PL 280 was not addressed by

this study.

12. Johnson, Ralph W., Justice and

the American Indian, vol. 1, The

Impact of Public Law 280 Upon the

Administration of Justice on Indian

Reservations, Rapid City, SD:

National American Indian Court

Judges Association, 1974; GoldbergAmbrose, Carole, and Duane

Champagne, “A Second Century of

Dishonor: Federal Inequities and

California Tribes,” unpublished report

for the American Advisory Council

on California Indian Policy, March 27,

1996 (on file with the UCLA

American Indian Studies Library).

This study is discussed in GoldbergAmbrose, Carole, “Public Law and

the Problem of Lawlessness in

California Indian Country,” UCLA Law

Review 44(1997): 1405, 1437–41;

14
PL 280 AND LAW ENFORCEMENT

and in Goldberg­Ambrose, Carole,

and Timothy Carr Seward (translator),

Planting Tail Feathers: Tribal Survival

and Public Law 280 (Contemporary

American Indian Issues No. 6), Los

Angeles, CA: UCLA American Indian

Studies Center, 1997. Other studies

and assessments have focused on

tribal policing but do not address

issues associated with State jurisdiction under PL 280 and include a very

limited number of PL 280 tribes.

13. The study’s staff interviewed

approximately 250 members of 20

Washington tribes and Federal,

State, and local judicial and law

enforcement personnel in the State.

14. Jimenez, Vanessa J., and Soo C.

Song, “Concurrent Tribal and State

Jurisdiction Under Public Law 280,”

American University Law Review

47(1998): 1627. From pages 1660–61:

“With the enactment of Public Law

280, legislators withdrew a significant aspect of the Federal Government’s responsibility for law

enforcement in Indian country 

and took their financial support 

with them.”

15. Federal Government studies also

have emphasized difficulties in collecting crime data for reservations

outside PL 280 States. See U.S.

Department of Justice, Office of the

Inspector General, Criminal Justice

in Indian Country, Audit Report

96–16, Washington, DC: U.S.

Department of Justice, 1996; also

see Wakeling et al., Policing on

American Indian Reservations:

13–15.

16. See Goldberg­Ambrose and

Champagne, “A Second Century of

Dishonor.” Collecting comparable

data for other PL 280 States is difficult because Bureau of Indian Affairs

funding is typically distributed by

area office, which may cover several

States and may not separate data by

tribe, even in PL 280 States.

17. See, for example, Bozarth,

Bonnie, “Public Law 280 and the

Flathead Experience,” Journal of

the West, 39(3)(2000): 46.

15
The National Institute of Justice is the 

research, development, and evaluation

agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. 

NIJ’s mission is to advance scientific research,

development, and evaluation to enhance the 

administration of justice and public safety.

NIJ is a component of the Office of Justice

Programs, which also includes the Bureau

of Justice Assistance, the Bureau of Justice

Statistics, the Office of Juvenile Justice

and Delinquency Prevention, and the

Office for Victims of Crime.