Monographs can be downloaded in Microsoft Word format by clicking on the topics below. The Judicial Response to Crime at the American Judicature Society in San Diego, California on November 2-3, 1997. This article addresses how tribal courts receive evidence of Indian tradition and custom under rules of evidence, discusses the definition and nature of tradition and custom in court settings, and their recognition as a legitimate form of law. Today Tribal courts play a vital role in helping Indian tribes create and maintain the social, political, economic, and legal environment necessary to a sovereign entity. However, the Supreme Court's recent interpretation is unwelcome to Indian tribes for the reason that land over which tribes previously asserted sovereign authority can now be found to be outside their jurisdiction and within state control.
Law is a way of life, and justice is a part of the life process . . .
As a project of the Conference of Chief Justices is demonstrating, it is possible through communication and cooperation to minimize jurisdictional problems between state and tribal courts. Providers of Justice and Protectors of Sovereignty Tribal courts are now the premier institutions that struggle to analyze and identify the extent of tribal jurisdiction and sovereignty . The rich and complex relationships among these three sovereignties need to become integrated into the discussion and law of federalism. In their efforts to establish tribal culture, Indian tribes are relying on the restoration of traditional forms of adjudication. This article examines the current state of the law governing tribal court practice in North Dakota, with an emphasis on the ever-changing civil jurisdiction rules governing tribal courts, an examination of full faith and credit between tribal and state courts as well as between tribal courts, and a review of recent federal legislative proposals which undoubtedly will impact tribal court civil practice.