Counterpoint: Promoting Tribal Self-Determination in a Post-Oliphant World: An Alternative Road Map

Abstract

This article considers a potential congressional "fix" for the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe, 435 U.S. 191 (1978), where the Court held that Indian tribes do not have criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians. Rather than conditioning the repeal of Oliphant on making tribal courts adopt certain measures, a post-Oliphant discussion should begin with a consideration of tribal self-determination. As a result, this article posits that tribal sovereignty is an important consideration of any discussion of a congressional "fix" of the Oliphant decision.