White Earth Nation seeks federal criminal jurisdiction
A request to DOJ could reshape who prosecutes major crimes.
The White Earth Nation in Minnesota has asked the United States Department of Justice to assert criminal jurisdiction on the reservation, a shift that would change how major cases are handled there, The Minneapolis Star Tribune said. Public Law 280, with some exceptions, gave Minnesota criminal and civil authority on reservation and tribal lands.
The nation’s request points to a path for the federal government to reassert a larger role through an application under the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010. “We can't fix the past.
In order for us to succeed and be a stronger community, so to speak, we've got to work together,” said the spokesperson Goodwin, the tribe’s director of public safety and chief of police, in comments to The Minneapolis Star Tribune. He said the goal is to build “a very good road map for other agencies and tribal nations to follow.” The White Earth Nation was the first tribe to submit an application under the Tribal Law and Order Act to the Department of Justice.
Tribes in California, another Public Law 280 state, also filed requests, signaling that other governments may pursue similar changes next.
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