The Oglala Sioux Tribal Court: From Termination to Self-Determination

In 1976, a study by the Judicial Services Division ofthe Bureau of Indian Affairs concluded that insufficient information is available on Indian tribal courts, suggesting that they have been largely ignored by historians and political scientists alike. By examining a specific court the Oglala Sioux Tribal Court a fuller understanding ofits vital role in the operation ofthe Pine Ridge Indian Reservation can be gained. From 1870 to the present, the Oglala Sioux Tribal Court has experienced a series ofchanges dictated byfederal Indian policy including the.replacement oftribal legal traditions with federal laws such as the Major Crimes Actof1885. The passage ofthe Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) in 1934 and the Indian Civil Rights Act of1968 brought a new era to the tribal court. Today, severe budget restrictions and increasingly high crime rates have created problems for the Oglala Sioux Tribal Court. Nevertheless, the court has become the linchpinfor effective tribal control ofthe Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Throughout the United States, there are more than 100 Indian tribes that operate their own judicial systems and these courts play an important role in Indian self-government and the administration of justice on reservations. Despite the large number of tribal courts, and the critical role they occupy on reservations and in the larger system ofAmerican justice, few people are aware of their existence, and even fewer understand how Indian courts operate. For example, in 1985, the Oglala Sioux Tribal Court located on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in southwest South Dakota handled over 12,000 criminal, civil, and juvenile cases. The Judicial Services Division, created by the Bureau ofIndian Affairs in 1976, concluded that there was insufficient written information on tribal courts. Since then, the National American Indian Court Judges Association, the American Indian Law Center, and the American Indian Lawyer Training Program have published a series of studies that focus on tribal courts.