Law & Order on Indian Reservations
2008-01-29
BIA-2007-0053-0002
05:00:00
https://api.regulations.gov/v4/comments/BIA-2007-0053-0002
Anonymous
Anonymous
We represent the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes Gaming Commission, which is currently involved in litigation in the courts of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes (Tribe).  We provide the following comments on behalf of the Gaming Commission regarding the proposed rule titled Law and Order on Indian Reservations, 72 Fed. Reg. 71,835, because the rule could inhibit the Bureaus planned reassumption of the Tribes court program, and thereby impact tribal court litigants such as the Gaming Commission. Although the Tribe has operated a tribal court system for several years, the Bureau has continuously listed the Tribe in 25 C.F.R. ? 11.100(a) as a tribe with a Court of Indian Offenses.  Recently, the Bureau determined that the current tribal court system has significant structural defects.  A tribal court assessment commissioned by the Bureau and released in September 2007 recommended reassumption of the court program.  Due to the unacceptable rating, the court system should be taken over by the BIA under the CFR court system . . . .  The financial problems that created the high risk tribe have not been rectified.  Elbridge Coochise and Ramona Tsosie, Tribal Court Assessment, 16 (July 27, 2007) (emphasis added).  The Bureau requested a corrective action plan from the Tribe, but the Tribe has failed to provide such a plan.  Given the Bureaus pending establishment of a Court of Indian Offenses for the Tribe, it would be inappropriate to remove the Tribe from Section 11.100(a), and we request that the Bureau reinsert the Tribe into this section of the proposed rule. 