Certain federal statutes enacted alter Pubic Law 280 have reduced the amount of jurisdiction available to states under the 1953 law, simultaneously increasing tribal sovereignty or federal power. In 1978, Congress enacted the Indian Child Welfare Act, which gives tribes exclusive jurisdiction over certain child custody proceedings involving Indian children. The act also regulates some other aspects of child custody. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 is another federal statute that supersedes or preempts P.L. 280. It makes enforcement of state gambling laws a federal rather than a state responsibility.
Indian tribes have inherent sovereign authority.
Most courts and attorneys general have found that under Public Law 280, the tribes have retained civil jurisdiction over activities within Indian Country as well as criminal jurisdiction over Indians. A few states, such as California, dissent from this view. The Tribal Court Clearinghouse is published as a public service by the Tribal Law and Policy Institute.