Law and order on Indian reservations: Correction,
[Federal Register: June 15, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 114)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 32631-32632]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr15jn98-18]
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Indian Affairs
RIN 1076-AD76
Law and Order on Indian Reservations; Correction
AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs.
ACTION: Correction to proposed regulations.
SUMMARY: This document contains corrections to the proposed regulations which were published Friday, July 5, 1996 (61 FR 35158) and corrections to the proposed regulations which were published Wednesday, February 26, 1997 (62 FR 8665) and Friday, November 14, 1997 (62 FR 61057). The proposed rule amends regulations governing Courts of Indian Offenses.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 15, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Comments are to be mailed to Bettie Rushing, Office of Tribal Services, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1849 C Street, NW, MS 4641- MB, 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 his designee, has received law and order codes adopted by the Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Indians, the Cheyenne--Arapaho Tribe, the Citizen Band of Potawatomi Indians, the Iowa Tribe, the Kaw Tribe, the Kickapoo Tribe, the Otoe- Missouri Tribe, and the Pawnee Tribe, all of Oklahoma, the Quechan Indian Tribe in Arizona and California, and the Yomba Shoshone Tribe in Nevada, 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 tribe's 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.
[[Page 32632]]
Correction of Publication
Accordingly, the publication on November 14, 1997 of the corrections to the proposed regulations, (62 FR 61057) is further corrected as follows:
Sec. 11.100(a) [Corrected]
On page 61057 and 61058, Sec. 11.100 (a) is corrected to read as follows:
Sec. 11.100 Where are Courts of Indian Offenses established?
(a) Unless indicated otherwise in this part, 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) Te-Moak Band of Western Shoshone Indians (Nevada).
(3) Kootenai Tribe (Idaho).
(4) Shoalwater Bay Tribe (Washington).
(5) Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (North Carolina).
(6) Ute Mountain Ute Tribe (Colorado).
(7) Hoopa Valley Tribe, Yurok Tribe and Coast Indian Community of California (California jurisdiction limited to special fishing regulations).
(8) Louisiana Area (includes Coushatta and other tribes located in the State of Louisiana which occupy Indian country 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.
(9) For the following tribes located in the former Oklahoma Territory (Oklahoma):
(i) Apache Tribe of Oklahoma.
(ii) Caddo Tribe of Oklahoma.
(iii) Comanche Tribe of Oklahoma (Except Comanche Children's Court).
(iv) Delaware Tribe of Western Oklahoma.
(v) Fort Sill Apache Tribe of Oklahoma.
(vi) Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma.
(vii) Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma.
(viii) Tonkawa Tribe of Oklahoma.
(ix) Wichita and Affiliated Tribes of Oklahoma.
(10) 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. * * * * *
Dated: June 4, 1998. Kevin Gover, Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 98-15833Filed6-12-98; 8:45 am]
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