[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 38 (Wednesday, February 26, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 8664-8665]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-4686]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs

25 CFR Part 11

RIN 1076-AD76


Law and Order on Indian Reservations; Correction.

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs.

ACTION: Correction to proposed regulations; reopening of comment 
period.

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[[Page 8665]]

SUMMARY: This document contains corrections to the proposed regulations 
which were published Friday, July 5, 1996 (61 FR 35158). The proposed 
rule amends regulations governing Courts of Indian Offenses.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 28, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments are to be mailed to Bettie Rushing, Office of 
Tribal Services, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1849 C Street, NW, MS 4641-
MIB, Washington, DC 20240; or, hand delivered to Room 4641 at the same 
address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bettie Rushing, Bureau of Indian 
Affairs (202) 208-4400.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The proposed rule that is the subject of these corrections 
supersedes 25 CFR 11.100(a) and affects those tribes that have 
exercised their inherent sovereignty by removing the names of those 
tribes from the list of Courts of Indian Offenses.
    The Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs, or her designee, has 
received law and order codes adopted by the Lovelock Paiute Tribe of 
Nevada, the Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, the 
Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, the 
Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma, the Kaw Nation, the Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma, 
the Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians, the Pawnee Indian Tribe of 
Oklahoma, and the Osage Indian Nation (except those matters involving 
the Osage mineral estate) in accordance with their constitutions and 
by-laws and approved by the appropriate bureau official. The Assistant 
Secretary-Indian Affairs recognizes that these courts were established 
in accordance with the tribes' constitutions and by-laws.
    Inclusion in Sec. 11.100, Where are Courts of Indian Offenses 
established?, does not defeat the inherent sovereignty of a tribe to 
establish tribal courts and exercise jurisdiction under tribal law. 
Tillett v. Lujan, 931 F.2d 636, 640 (10th Cir. 1991) (CFR courts 
``retain some characteristics of an agency of the federal government'' 
but they ``also function as tribal courts''); Combrink v. Allen, 20 
Indian L. Rep. 6029, 6030 (Ct. Ind. App., Tonkawa, Mar. 5, 1993) (CFR 
court is a ``federally administered tribal court''); Ponca Tribal 
Election Board v. Snake, 17 Indian L. Rep. 6085, 6088 (Ct. Ind. App., 
Ponca, Nov. 10, 1988) (``The Courts of Indian Offenses act as tribal 
courts since they are exercising the sovereign authority of the tribe 
for which the court sits.''). Such exercise of inherent sovereignty and 
the establishment of tribal courts shall comply with the requirements 
in 25 CFR 11.100(c).

Need for Correction

    As published, the proposed rule contains errors which may prove to 
be misleading and are in need of clarification.

Correction of Publication

    Accordingly, the publication on July 5, 1996 of the proposed 
regulations, which were the subject of FR Doc. 96-16039, is corrected 
as follows:


Sec. 11.100  [Corrected]

    1. On page 35159 in the third column and on page 35160 in the first 
column paragraph (a) is corrected to read as follows:


Sec. 11.100  Where are Courts of Indian Offenses established?

    (a) Unless indicated otherwise in this title, the regulations in 
this part apply to the Indian country (as defined in 18 U.S.C. 1151) 
occupied by the following tribes:
    (1) Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians (Minnesota).
    (2) Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation (Nevada).
    (3) Te-Moak Band of Western Shoshone Indians (Nevada).
    (4) Yomba Shoshone Tribe (Nevada).
    (5) Kootenai Tribe (Idaho).
    (6) Shoalwater Bay Tribe (Washington).
    (7) Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (North Carolina).
    (8) Ute Mountain Ute Tribe (Colorado).
    (9) Quechan Indian Tribe (Arizona) (Except resident members).
    (10) Valley Tribe, Yurok Tribe, and Coast Indian Community of 
California (California Jurisdiction limited to special fishing 
regulations).
    (11) Louisiana Area (includes Coushatta and other tribes located in 
the State of Louisiana which occupy Indian and which accept the 
application of this part); Provided that this part shall not apply to 
any Louisiana tribe other than the Coushatta Tribe until notice of such 
application has been published in the Federal Register.
    (12) For the following tribes located in the former Indian 
Territory (Oklahoma):
    (i) Chickasaw Nation.
    (ii) Choctaw Nation.
    (iii) Thlopthlocco Tribal Town.
    (iv) Seminole Nation.
    (v) Eastern Shawnee Tribe.
    (vi) Miami Tribe.
    (vii) Modoc Tribe.
    (viii) Ottawa Tribe.
    (ix) Peoria Tribe.
    (x) Quapaw Tribe.
    (xi) Wyandotte Tribe.
    (xii) Seneca-Cayuga Tribe.
    (xiii) Osage Tribe (Limited to mineral estate matters).
* * * * *
    Dated: February 14, 1997.
Ada E. Deer,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 97-4686 Filed 2-25-97; 8:45 am]
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