I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3091 
To support clarity and consistency with regard to the exercise of criminal 
jurisdiction and authority in Indian country, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 11, 2021 
Mr. COLE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
committee concerned 
A BILL 
To support clarity and consistency with regard to the exercise 
of criminal jurisdiction and authority in Indian country, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Cherokee Nation and 
Chickasaw Nation Criminal Jurisdiction Compacting Act 
of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Court rulings have affirmed the Cherokee 
Nation and the Chickasaw Nation have reservations 
that constitute Indian country for purposes of crimi-
nal jurisdiction, the boundaries of which are set 
forth in each Nation’s respective treaties with the 
United States. 
(2) Each Nation has worked with the State, in-
cluding certain political subdivisions of the State, to 
ensure cooperation and coordination on law enforce-
ment and public safety within the respective reserva-
tions of the Nations. 
(3) Legally effective compacts are important 
tools of Tribal self-determination and are useful in 
avoiding jurisdictional disputes within Indian coun-
try; 
(4) The Nations and the State have successfully 
implemented intergovernmental agreements on polic-
ing, taxation, child welfare, gaming, hunting and 
fishing, and other matters implicating their respec-
tive sovereign authorities, rights, and interests. 
(5) Sections 1152 and 1153 of title 18, United 
States Code, and other Federal laws preempt the 
Nations and the State from forming effective com-
pacts respecting criminal jurisdiction in Indian coun-
try. 
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(6) It is necessary, proper, and consistent with 
Federal policies supporting Tribal self-determination 
to provide express, specific, and defined authoriza-
tion for purposes of the Nations forming lawful and 
effective compacts with the State respecting criminal 
jurisdiction on Indian country (other than on Indian 
lands). 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) CHEROKEE NATION.—The term ‘‘Cherokee 
Nation’’ means the federally recognized Indian Tribe 
with its present Tribal headquarters south of Tahle-
quah, Oklahoma, having adopted its most recent 
constitution on August 7, 2003, and having entered 
into various treaties with the United States, includ-
ing the Treaty at Hopewell, executed on November 
28, 1785 (7 Stat. 18), and the Treaty at Wash-
ington, D.C., executed on July 19, 1866 (14 Stat. 
799), and which has maintained a continuous gov-
ernment-to-government relationship with the United 
States since the earliest years of the Union. 
(2) CHICKASAW NATION.—The term ‘‘Chicka-
saw Nation’’ means a federally recognized Indian 
Tribe with its present Tribal headquarters in Ada, 
Oklahoma, having adopted its most recent constitu-
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tion on August 27, 1983, and having entered into 
various treaties with the United States of America, 
including the Treaty at Hopewell, executed on Janu-
ary 10, 1786 (7 Stat. 24), and the Treaty at Wash-
ington, D.C., executed on April 28, 1866 (7 Stat. 
21), and which has maintained a continuous govern-
ment-to-government relationship with the United 
States since the earliest years of the Union. 
(3) INDIAN.—The term ‘‘Indian’’ has the mean-
ing given that term in section 201(4) of the Indian 
Civil Rights Act of 1968 (25 U.S.C. 1301(4)). 
(4) INDIAN COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘Indian coun-
try’’ has the meaning given that term in section 
1151 of title 18 of the United States Code. 
(5) INDIAN
LAND.—The term ‘‘Indian land’’ 
means land within a Nation’s reservation— 
(A) title to which is held in trust by the 
United States for the benefit of an Indian Tribe 
or an Indian; 
(B) title to which is held in fee by an In-
dian Tribe or an Indian subject to restrictions 
against alienation under laws of the United 
States; 
(C) title to which is held in fee by an In-
dian Tribe or an Indian in accord with a treaty 
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with the United States to which an Indian 
Tribe is a party, and such land had never been 
allotted to any individual; or 
(D) which otherwise constitutes Indian 
country under subsection (b) or (c) of section 
1151 of title 18, United States Code. 
(6) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 
means any American Indian or Alaska Native Tribe, 
band, nation, pueblo, village, or community that the 
Secretary acknowledges to exist as a federally recog-
nized Indian Tribe under the Federally Recognized 
Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131). 
(7) NATION.—The term ‘‘Nation’’ means the 
Cherokee Nation or the Chickasaw Nation. 
(8) NATIONS.—The ‘‘Nations’’ means the Cher-
okee Nation and the Chickasaw Nation. 
(9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
(10) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the 
State of Oklahoma. 
SEC. 4. RESERVATION INTEGRITY. 
To support clarity and consistency with respect to the 
exercise of criminal jurisdiction and authority on the Na-
tions’ respective Indian country— 
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(1) the reservation of each Nation, with bound-
aries as set forth in its most recent treaty or agree-
ment with the United States, is acknowledged; 
(2) the Secretary shall not take any land into 
trust status within the exterior boundary of the res-
ervation of a Nation unless— 
(A) the land is taken into trust status for 
the benefit of that Nation or of a citizen or citi-
zens of that Nation; or 
(B) the Nation consents in writing to the 
trust status for such land; and 
(3) the Secretary taking land within the exte-
rior boundary of a Nation’s reservation into trust in 
accordance with paragraph (2) shall not alter or di-
minish any criminal or civil jurisdiction of the con-
senting Nation. 
SEC. 5. NO EFFECT. 
Nothing in this Act— 
(1) waives the sovereign immunity of a Nation; 
(2) expands, limits, modifies, or otherwise af-
fects the authority or right that a Nation possesses 
under, or which is protected by, a treaty with the 
United States or other Federal law; 
(3) deprives a Nation of any right, privilege, or 
immunity afforded under Federal treaty, agreement, 
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statute, or other law with respect to hunting, fish-
ing, or water; or 
(4) invalidates, supersedes, or restricts any 
intergovernmental agreement or compact between a 
Nation and the State, or any of its subdivisions, en-
tered into before the date of the enactment of this 
Act. 
SEC. 6. INTERGOVERNMENTAL CRIMINAL JURISDICTION 
COMPACTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—A Nation may negotiate and enter 
into one or more intergovernmental compacts with the 
State regarding criminal jurisdiction on the Indian coun-
try (other than on Indian land) of that Nation, in accord 
with this Act. 
(b) AUTHORIZATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon entering into a com-
pact that satisfies the requirements of subsection (c) 
and subject to the limitations set forth in subsection 
(d) and the terms of such compact, the State may 
exercise its criminal jurisdiction in accord with its 
laws over offenses committed by or against Indians 
within the reservation of the Nation (other than on 
Indian land) to the same extent as the courts of the 
State have jurisdiction over and its laws apply to of-
fenses committed elsewhere within the State on 
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lands that are not Indian country, notwithstanding 
sections 1152 and 1153 of title 18, United States 
Code, and other Federal laws providing for United 
States criminal jurisdiction exclusive of State juris-
diction on lands that are Indian country. 
(2) EXISTING JURISDICTION.—The jurisdiction 
of the State described in paragraph (1) shall be con-
current with any criminal jurisdiction of the United 
States and the Nation on lands that are Indian 
country. 
(c) REQUIREMENTS.—An intergovernmental criminal 
jurisdiction compact entered into under this section 
shall— 
(1) define any geographic limits within the res-
ervation of the compacting Nation on which the 
State may exercise criminal jurisdiction; 
(2) define the categories of criminal offenders 
or offenses within the reservation of the compacting 
Nation over which the State may exercise jurisdic-
tion; 
(3) provide for means to amend the compact; 
(4) provide for means for either party to revoke 
the compact upon not less than one year of written 
notice to the other party, specifying the date on 
which such revocation shall take effect and stating 
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that revocation shall not affect any action, pending 
proceeding, conviction, adjudication, or final deter-
mination over which a court has already assumed ju-
risdiction; and 
(5) provide that it shall take legal effect upon 
entry in accordance with the respective laws of the 
State and the Nation. 
(d) LIMITATIONS.—Nothing in this Act or any agree-
ment entered under this Act shall— 
(1) limit or otherwise diminish the jurisdiction 
of the United States or of a Nation; 
(2) limit or otherwise affect the allocation of 
criminal jurisdiction respecting Indian land; 
(3) alter or otherwise affect jurisdiction over 
any person for any offense committed before a com-
pact takes effect; 
(4) limit or otherwise diminish criminal juris-
diction of the State over offenses committed by a 
person anywhere on the Indian country of a Nation 
before the date of a compact taking effect; 
(5) limit or otherwise diminish applicability of 
the criminal laws of the State anywhere on the In-
dian country of a Nation before the date of a com-
pact taking effect; or 
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(6) confer upon the State any authority to im-
pose any tax, fee, charge, or other assessment upon 
a Nation, nor may the State refuse to enter into a 
compact based on the lack of authority in the State, 
including its political subdivisions, to impose any 
such tax, fee, charge, or other assessment. 
SEC. 7. FEDERAL ENGAGEMENT. 
(a) UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL.—At the 
request of a Nation, the Attorney General shall consult 
with and provide technical assistance to the Nation for 
purposes of developing or implementing any compact au-
thorized under this Act. 
(b) BUREAU OF PRISONS.—In the case of an offender 
sentenced by a Nation to a term of imprisonment of more 
than 6 months, the Nation may require the offender to 
serve his or her sentence in the nearest appropriate Fed-
eral facility. The Bureau of Prisons shall accept and im-
plement the term of imprisonment in accordance with such 
sentence, and the term of imprisonment shall be subject 
to the conditions described in section 5003 of title 18, 
United States Code, regarding the custody of State offend-
ers, except that any offender sentenced by a Nation shall 
be imprisoned at the expense of the United States. 
(c) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.— 
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(1) PUBLICATION OF COMPACT.—Upon a Na-
tion and the State entering a compact under section 
6, the Nation may provide a copy of the compact to 
the Secretary, who shall then cause notice of the 
compact to be published in the Federal Register not 
later than 30 days after receiving such copy. 
(2) REPORT.—The Secretary shall— 
(A) in consultation with each Nation— 
(i) complete a report on the develop-
ment and implementation of compacts 
under this Act; and 
(ii) make recommendations for further 
action to support and enhance the criminal 
justice system of each Nation, including 
additional Federal expenditures appro-
priate to such actions; and 
(B) not later than 2 years after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, submit the report 
prepared under subparagraph (A) to the Com-
mittee on Natural Resources of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Indian 
Affairs of the Senate. 
Æ 
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