Tribal, State, and Federal Cooperation to Achieve Good Governance

This article considers tribal, state, and federal cooperation to achieve good governance. Part II discusses the patchwork of laws affecting Indian country and analyzes the ways in which criminal jurisdictional uncertainty affects native sovereignty and public safety. Where the legal analysis does not depend upon the use of the term “Indian,” the following discussion uses the term indigenous peoples. Part III addresses civil jurisdiction over non-Indians in general and tribal water quality regulation in particular. Management of natural resources remains one of the core aspects of sovereignty that tribes have retained. The section examines judicial recognition of tribal water rights to prevent zinc mining in Wisconsin from impacting ancient wild rice harvests of the Chippewa; to require non-Indians to adhere to water standards to reduce transboundary water pollution affecting the Flathead Lake Reservation; and to protect ceremonial use of the Rio Grand River by the Pueblo of New Mexico. Part IV considers homeland security in the context of a devastating methamphetamine crisis among tribal communities. Part V examines the need for public oversight when regulation is devolved to the private sector. Part VI discusses international law in relation to indigenous peoples. This section addresses the domestic relevance of international human rights provisions in protecting indigenous rights. Part VII assesses the prospect for integrated management based upon comity and cooperation. This section addresses equity concerns involved in natural resource protection. Part VIII concludes that federal, state, and tribal entities can enhance international and regional institutions in order to provide good governance