Title: McGirt v. Oklahoma points to why Native Americans have a hard time seeking justice - The Washington Post
Headings: The Oklahoma decision reveals why Native Americans have a hard time seeking justice
The Oklahoma decision reveals why Native Americans have a hard time seeking justice
Congress won’t let tribes fully punish non-Native American criminals — but federal prosecutors often won’t pursue crimes against Native Americans.
McGirt v. Oklahoma
Why does the federal government share jurisdiction with the tribal nations?
What are the consequences of federal jurisdiction?
What can be done?

Content: the tribal nation had that exclusive power. Congress responded by passing the Major Crimes Act in 1885 — still in force today — which gives the federal government shared jurisdiction over a set of “major crimes” such as murder on tribal land. In 1968, Congress passed a statute limiting tribal authority called the Indian Civil Rights Act (ICRA); the law limited the sentences that tribes could impose to a maximum of one-year incarceration. That discouraged many tribes from prosecuting major violent crimes. Advertisement
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Courts have also limited tribal jurisdiction. In 1978, in Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe, the Supreme Court prohibited tribes from prosecuting non-Native Americans for crimes committed on tribal land. This left a serious gap. Tribes can neither prosecute non-Native American criminals themselves nor force the federal government to do so. What's next after the Supreme Court's birth control ruling?