What is Public Law 280?
In 1953, Public Law 83-280 (PL 280) was signed into law, which removed jurisdictional control from the federal government and Tribal governments and gave control to the states. The law applies to all the states, but six states were designated as mandatory PL 280 states. This law was part of the termination of Native Americans as sovereign nations, taking away tribal lands and moving Indigenous people to urban centers. The goal was to assimilate Indigenous Nations into White culture.
What was the impact of Public Law 280?
This law has caused a great number of issues for Indigenous Nations and jurisdictional issues related to civil and criminal cases. Another effect of the law was a breakdown of the relationship between the federal government and Tribal governments as the federal government ceded power to the states.
The law remains in effect today but was amended in 1968 to give back Tribal consent and the option to give jurisdiction back to the federal government. PL 280 gives concurrent jurisdiction to the Tribe and State, although there may be specific laws in a state that prevent that from happening.1
How does this impact the Indigenous Nations in my state?
The impact on tribes is different in different states. The Six Mandatory PL 280 states were chosen because they were the states that had the highest population of Native people at that time and was part of the reason they were targeted for assimilation policies.
The following states were mandatory under PL 280 and covered all Indian Country with some exceptions for specific tribes:
| California | All Indian Country |
| Minnesota | All Indian Country, except the Red Lake Reservation |
| Nebraska | All Indian Country |
| Oregon | All Indian Country, except the Warm Springs Reservation |
| Wisconsin | All Indian Country |
| Alaska | All Indian Country, except Metlakatla criminal jurisdiction |
How does Public Law 280 address domestic and/or sexual violence?
Congress, recognizing the pattern of failed responses to cases of domestic and sexual violence on PL 280 tribal lands, created a legal path under the Tribal Law and Order Act (TLOA) of 2010 for Indian tribes to petition the federal government to reassume federal criminal jurisdiction. On March 15, 2013, the Department of Justice announced that it had granted the first resumption request and would accept concurrent jurisdiction with the White Earth Nation over its reservation in Minnesota.2
- Public Law 280: Issues and Concerns for Victims of Crime in Indian Country. Public Law 280: Issues and Concerns for Victims of Crime in Indian Country, by Ada Pecos Melton and Jerry Gardner. (n.d.). http://www.tribal-institute.org/articles/gardner1.htm.
- Agtuca, J. R. (2014). Safety for native women: Vawa and American Indian tribes. (D. Sahneyah, Ed.). National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center.