Rebecca Webster on Tribal/Local Jurisdiction in Indian Country

Rebecca Webster has published “Tribal and Local Governments: Jurisdictional Challenges within Shared Spaces” in the Wisconsin Lawyer.

An excerpt:

The concepts of shared governance and pooling resources have gained much attention in recent years. Often standing in the way of cooperation is the inability of local governments to regulate beyond their borders.¹ While this area of law is well established and generally predictable with respect to local governments, the same cannot be said for instances when tribal governments are involved.²

With a focus on Wisconsin, this article briefly outlines the complex jurisdictional issues that arise when a tribal government and a local government exercise various levels of regulatory jurisdiction within an Indian reservation. Each government has a legitimate interest in protecting its jurisdictional authority; however, the path to determine the extent of that authority often has been paved with costly litigation. Despite the cost in time and money, the pursuit of jurisdictional certainty through the courts is riddled with inconsistencies and unanswered questions. Because this area of law is not well settled, it can be difficult for governments to come to an understanding of their respective jurisdictional limitations³ and therefore, to form cooperative relationships.⁴