Appeals court rules against tribal jurisdiction in school cases

The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against tribal jurisdiction in a pair of cases involving public school districts.

Tribes, generally, lack jurisdiction over non-Indian entities. But the Montana v. US decision in Montana v. US lays out two exceptions -- one for "private consensual relationships" and another for activities that threaten or affect the "political integrity, the economic security, or the health or welfare of the tribe."

In the first case, the 8th Circuit held that the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians lacks jurisdiction over the Belcourt Public School District in North Dakota. The parties entered into an agreement to address school operations but it did not confer authority to hear disputes in tribal court, the unanimous decision stated.

http://www.indianz.com/News/2015/017519.asp