Native American rights are very close to my heart. My mother was a Mescalero Apache and I have strong ties to Native American tribes. This ruling is very important to me because it represents a fundamental shift in power on reservation lands.
On June 1st, the US Supreme Court ruled that tribal police officers can temporarily detain and search non-Indians on public roads on tribal lands for potential violations of state or federal law, based on reasonable suspicion.
The ruling states: “To deny a tribal police officer authority to search and detain for a reasonable time any person he or she believes may commit or has committed a crime would make it difficult for tribes to protect themselves against ongoing threats. Such threats may be posed by, for instance, non-Indian drunk drivers, transporters of contraband, or other criminal offenders operating on roads within the boundaries of a tribal reservation.”
I believe that this is a critical ruling for Native American tribes. Until now, lawbreakers have walked with impunity on reservation lands. Moreover, there has been an epidemic of the abduction of Native American women from reservations, and the rape of tribal women. It was previously impossible to apprehend and prosecute effectively for those crimes.
This ruling means that native peoples have more sovereignty on their lands, including over non-Native Americans. This represents the ability of communities to protect themselves, without recourse to the federal government or outside forces.
This ruling enhances protections of Native American women and if the Violence Against Women Act currently going through the Senate is reauthorized, we will see positive steps in this country with regards to the rights of women.
