Tribal Justice
Tribal Nations are political, sovereign entities whose status stems from the inherent sovereignty we have as self-governing peoples, which pre-dates the founding of the Republic. The Constitution, treaties, statutes, Executive Orders, and judicial decisions all recognize that the federal government has a fundamental trust relationship to Tribal Nations, including the obligation uphold the right to self-government. A critical aspect of our inherent sovereignty is jurisdiction over our lands and people, including inherent jurisdiction over crimes. Early Supreme Court decisions recognized this broad jurisdictional authority. But the United States has slowly chipped away at Tribal Nations’ jurisdiction. A gap in criminal jurisdiction stems from this failure to recognize our inherent sovereignty. When Tribal Nations are barred from prosecuting offenders and the federal government fails in its obligations, criminals are free to offend with impunity. In order to truly improve public safety in Indian Country, Tribal Nations must have full criminal jurisdiction over our lands, as well as the people who reside on or enter our lands, and this jurisdiction must be restored through a fix to the Supreme Court decision in Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe.
Testimony
2024
- USET SPF Testimony for the Record of SCIA Listening Session - Public Safety & Justice Resources in Native Communities - April 12, 2024
- USET SPF Testimony For the Record of the House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs Oversight Hearing Titled “Advancing Tribal Self-Determination: Examining the opportunities and challenges of the 477 Program” - April 3, 2024
2023
- USET SPF Testimony For the Record of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Oversight Hearing on “Native Communities’ Priorities for the 118th Congress” - March 22, 2023
2021
- USET SPF Testimony for the Record of Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Oversight Hearing "Restoring Justice: Addressing Violence in Native Communities through VAWA Title IX Special Jurisdiction" - December 16, 2021
- USET SPF Testimony For the Record of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Oversight Hearing, “A call to action: Native communities’ priorities in focus for the 117th Congress” - March 24, 2021
2020
- Testimony of Chief Kirk Francis, USET SPF President, Before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs For the Oversight Hearing, “From Languages to Homelands: Advancing Tribal Self-Governance and Cultural Sovereignty for Future Generations.” - December 9, 2020
- USET SPF Written Testimony House Interior Appropriations Tribal Witness Hearings - February 3, 2020
2019
- USET SPF Testimony for SCIA Public Safety Hearing - June 17, 2019
Comments
2021
- USET SPF Comments to DOJ re: Risk Management in the Context of Economic Development - November 12, 2021
- USET SPF Comments re: DOI Consultation on ARP - March 31, 2021
Joint Letters
2022
- USET SPF Joins National and Regional Tribal Partner Organizations Letter Urging Congress to Protect Native American Voting Rights - January 12, 2022
2020
- USET SPF Joins Letter Indian Country Opposition to ABC Big Sky Concerns Joint Org Letter - December 11, 2020
- USET SPF Joins Letter Opposing Legislative Action to Abrogate Tribal Sovereignty Following McGirt Decision - August 13, 2020
- USET SPF Signs onto Joint Letter to Senate re: Tribal Priorities for Tribal Governance and Housing for COVID-19 Stimulus Package - March 20, 2020
- USET SPF Signs onto Joint Letter to House re: Tribal Priorities for Tribal Governance and Housing for COVID-19 Stimulus Package - March 20, 2020
Letters
2023
2022
- USET SPF Letter Supporting Clemency for Leonard Peltier - October 25, 2022
2021
To find archived items, please visit our Data Center.