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Palm Springs Tribal Attorney Answers: How is Indian Tribal Law Set Up to Govern On Reservations?

Indian tribes are unified under one government, or type of leadership. In America, even though the federal government may not recognize a certain people group, a particular state may officially recognize an Indian group. The process of official group recognition can be challenging. Legislatures and courts often get into the action of determining whether a specific group of Indians can be recognized. If a group is to be officially recognized, the history and control of territory are issues that need to be dealt with.

A Palm Springs tribal attorney may point out that Indians have the power to govern themselves. The law sees tribes as “domestic, dependent nations.” These laws give power to tribes in order to protect local Indians from the authority of the state that they are in.

In 2008, a case was brought to the Supreme Court that called into question the reach of jurisdiction of tribal courts. The ruling, which is known to many real estate and land law attorneys in Palm Springs, was focused on strengthening previous principles that were already in effect. That is, that unless non-Indian activities or events threaten the tribe, a non-Indian is not subject to the jurisdiction of the tribe.

The United States has plenty of laws that deal with Indian rights. These statues include the Indian Civil Rights Act and the Indian Reorganization Act. Other information, which can be found by a Palm Springs Native American trust lawyer or someone else, is found at 28 U.S.C. & 1360.

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Coachella Valley

Indian Wells
74774 Highway 111
Indian Wells, CA 92210
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Palm Springs, CA 92262
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