Opinion ID: 887551
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Tribal Sovereignty

Text: ¶ 20 Turning now to our jurisdictional analysis, we observe the United States Supreme Court's holdings regarding the retained sovereignty of Indian tribes and the extent of tribal civil authority. The Court has stated that Indian tribes are `domestic dependent nations' that exercise inherent sovereign authority over their members and territories. Oklahoma Tax Comm'n v. Potawatomi Tribe, 498 U.S. 505, 509, 111 S.Ct. 905, 909, 112 L.Ed.2d 1112 (1991) (citation omitted). The Court has also stated: Indian tribes are distinct, independent political communities, retaining their original natural rights in matters of local self-government. Although no longer possessed of the full attributes of sovereignty, they remain a separate people, with the power of regulating their internal and social relations. They have power to make their own substantive law in internal matters, [including rules regarding membership, inheritance, and domestic relations] and to enforce that law in their own forums. Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez, 436 U.S. 49, 55-56, 98 S.Ct. 1670, 1675, 56 L.Ed.2d 106 (1978) (internal citations and quotation marks omitted). ¶ 21 Although Indian tribes possess attributes of sovereignty over both their members and their territories, their dependent status generally precludes extension of tribal civil authority beyond these limits. Atkinson Trading Co., Inc., v. Shirley, 532 U.S. 645, 659, 121 S.Ct. 1825, 1835, 149 L.Ed.2d 889 (2001) (citation omitted). More specifically, the inherent sovereignty of Indian tribes [is] limited to their members and their territory: [E]xercise of tribal power beyond what is necessary to protect tribal self-government or to control internal relations is inconsistent with the dependent status of the tribes. Atkinson, 532 U.S. at 650-51, 121 S.Ct. at 1830 (citation and internal quotation marks omitted) (first alteration added, second alteration in original). Thus, [t]ribal jurisdiction is limited: For powers not expressly conferred them by federal statute or treaty, Indian tribes must rely upon their retained or inherent sovereignty. Atkinson, 532 U.S. at 649-50, 121 S.Ct. at 1830.