[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 220 (Friday, November 14, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 61057-61058]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-29938]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs

25 CFR Part 11

RIN 1076-AD76


Law and Order on Indian Reservations; Correction

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Correction to proposed regulations.

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SUMMARY: This document contains corrections to the proposed regulations 
which were published Friday, July 5, 1996 (61 FR 35158) and corrections 
to the proposed regulations which were published Wednesday, February 
26, 1997 (62 FR 8665). The proposed rule amends regulations governing 
Courts of Indian Offenses.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 15, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments are to be mailed to Bettie Rushing, Office of 
Tribal Services, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1849 C Street, NW, MS 4641-
MIB, Washington, DC 20240; or, hand delivered to Room 4641 at the same 
address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bettie Rushing, Bureau of Indian 
Affairs (202) 208-4400.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The proposed rule that is the subject of these corrections 
supersedes 25 CFR 11.100(a) and affects those tribes that have 
exercised their inherent sovereignty by removing the names of those 
tribes from the list of Courts of Indian Offenses.
    The Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs, or her designee, has 
received law and order code adopted by the Confederated Tribes of the 
Goshute Reservation of Nevada in accordance with their constitutions 
and by-laws and approved by the appropriate bureau official. The 
Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs recognizes that this court was 
established in accordance with the tribe's constitutions and by-laws. 
Also, the list of Courts of Indian Offenses has been corrected to 
include tribes inadvertently omitted from the correction and to reflect 
the decision of the Court in Fletcher v. United States, No. 95-5208 
(10th Cir. Dec. June 10, 1997, reh. den. Aug. 18, 1997).
    Inclusion in Sec. 11.100, Where are Courts of Indian Offenses 
established?, does not defeat the inherent sovereignty of a tribe to 
establish tribal courts and exercise jurisdiction under tribal law. 
Tillett v. Lujan, 931 F.2d 636, 640 (10th Cir. 1991) (CFR courts 
``retain some characteristics of an agency of the federal government'' 
but they ``also function as tribal courts''); Combrink v. Allen, 20 
Indian L. Rep. 6029, 6030 (Ct. Ind. App., Tonkawa, Mar. 5, 1993) (CFR 
court is a ``federally administered tribal court''); Ponca Tribal 
Election Board v. Snake, 17 Indian L. Rep. 6085, 6088 (Ct. Ind. App., 
Ponca, Nov. 10, 1988) (``The Courts of Indian Offenses act as tribal 
courts since they are exercising the sovereign authority of the tribe 
for which the court sits.''). Such exercise of inherent sovereignty and 
the establishment of tribal courts shall comply with the requirements 
in 25 CFR 11.100(c).

Need for Correction

    As published, the proposed rule and the correction to the proposed 
rule contain errors which may prove to be misleading and are in need of 
clarification.

Correction of Publication

    Accordingly, the publication on July 5, 1996 (61 FR 35158), of the 
proposed regulations, which were the subject of FR Doc. 96-16039, and 
the publication of February 26, 1997 (62 FR 8664), corrections to the 
proposed regulations, which were the subject of FR Doc. 97-4686, are 
corrected as follows:


Sec. 11.100  [Corrected]

    In the Federal Register published July 5, 1996 on page 35159, and 
corrected on February 26, 1997 on 1997 on page 8665, in Sec. 11.100, 
paragraph (a) is, corrected to read as follows:


Sec. 11.100  Where are Courts of Indian Offenses established?

    (a) Unless indicated otherwise in this part, the regulations in 
this part apply to the Indian country (as defined in 18 U.S.C. 1151) 
occupied by the tribes listed below:
    (1) Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians (Minnesota).
    (2) Te-Moak Band of Western Shoshone Indians (Nevada).
    (3) Yomba Shoshone Tribe (Nevada).
    (4) Kootenai Tribe (Idaho).
    (5) Shoalwater Bay Tribe (Washington).
    (6) Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (North Carolina).
    (7) Ute Mountain Ute Tribe (Colorado).
    (8) Quechan Indian Tribe (Arizona) (except resident members).
    (9) Hoopa Valley Tribe, Yurok Tribe and Coast Indian Community of 
California (California jurisdiction limited to special fishing 
regulations).
    (10) Louisiana Area (includes Coushatta and other tribes located in 
the State of Louisiana which occupy Indian country and which accept the 
application of this part); Provided, that this part shall not apply to 
any Louisiana tribe other than the Coushatta Tribe until notice of such 
application has been published in the Federal Register.
    (11) For the following tribes located in the former Oklahoma 
Territory (Oklahoma):
    (i) Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma.
    (ii) Apache Tribe of Oklahoma.
    (iii) Caddo Tribe of Oklahoma.
    (iv) Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribe of Oklahoma.
    (v) Citizen Band of Potawatomi Indians of Oklahoma.
    (vi) Comanche Tribe of Oklahoma (Except Comanche Children's Court).
    (vii) Delaware Tribe of Western Oklahoma.
    (viii) Fort Sill Apache Tribe of Oklahoma.
    (ix) Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma.
    (x) Kaw Tribe of Oklahoma.
    (xi) Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma.
    (xii) Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma.
    (xiii) Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Oklahoma.

[[Page 61058]]

    (xiv) Pawnee Tribe of Oklahoma.
    (xv) Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma.
    (xvi) Tonkawa Tribe of Oklahoma.
    (xvii) Wichita and Affiliated Tribes of Oklahoma.
    (12) For the following tribes located in the former Indian 
Territory (Oklahoma):
    (i) Chickasaw Nation.
    (ii) Choctaw Nation.
    (iii) Thlopthlocco Tribal Town.
    (iv) Seminole Nation.
    (v) Eastern Shawnee Tribe.
    (vi) Miami Tribe.
    (vii) Modoc Tribe.
    (viii) Ottawa Tribe.
    (ix) Peoria Tribe.
    (x) Quapaw Tribe.
    (xi) Wyandotte Tribe.
    (xii) Seneca-Cayuga Tribe.
    (xiii) Osage Tribe.

    Dated: October 29, 1997.
Ada E. Deer,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 97-29938 Filed 11-13-97; 8:45 am]
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