In the 1950s, Congress passed Public Law 83-280, commonly know as PL 280. Two policies contributed to its passage, termination, which sought to assimilate Indians into American society and culture, and the move to end tribal land holdings. PL 280 encouraged these policies by transferring criminal jurisdiction to state authorities. The other reason Congress passed PL 280 were the various reports of reservation "lawlessness." As a result, PL 280 used state courts and police to extend "public safety" to tribes.
Today, PL 280 (in parts) is still an active policy. While the specter of termination and its twin relocation no longer haunt Indian Country, the jurisdictional issues raised by PL 280 still stop the tribes from using tribal police to enforce laws on the reservation. When PL 280 was passed, the BIA stopped funding courts and police on all reservations that came under the act. Recently, courts stated that PL 280 was not designed to preempt tribal jurisdiction or police authority. Further, the courts stated that tribes and states share "concurrent" jurisdiction over criminal matters, while civil issues are under the purview of the tribe. All of this may be well and good, and a healthy dose of historical misunderstanding, but how does it play among Indians? How well have the state authorities fared as an alternative to tribal controls?
The UCLA Native Nations Law and Policy Center surveyed reservation residents, police, and criminal justice personel. The soon to be made public results show that Indians on reservations believe that state authorities are NOT providing effective service, don't understand tribal cultures and traditions, do not communicate with the tribes, often overstep their authority, and show a lack of respect for tribal authorities. When the same survey was given to law enforcement professionals in PL 280 states, they responded that they believed themselves to be delivering quality services to tribal communities. In non-PL 280 states, reservation residents agree that their courts and police are quality and professional.
This hold over from the 1950s, and the Cold War mindset that favored and forced conformity needs to go and go fast. Indian people routinely support their own tribal courts and police forces, and state that at the tribal level these services meet their needs. As soon as white law enforcement becomes involved, services to the community seem to fall off--the same lack of respect for people and culture that drove Congress to policies like termination and relocation. Perhaps its about time for Congress and the rest of the federal government to recognize that the best policy they could develop for Indians is to LEAVE THEM ALONE. Let Indians be Indians and run their own affairs.
