Joint Tribal-State Jurisdiction

“There was growing sentiment on the reservation that we could not wait for someone else to save us.”

By Honoring Nations

Honoring Nations 2010 Awardee

Across Indian Country tribes are strengthening and better defining their governments in order to meet the unique needs of their communities. As Native nations work to expand their sovereign powers, tribal justice departments can play a critical role in achieving those goals.

Joint Tribal-State JurisdictionHonoring Nations

A Growing Crime Problem

Located in the midst of the beautiful Chippewa National Forest in north-central Minnesota, the Leech Lake Reservation is home to nearly 9,000 tribal citizens. By the early 2000s, it was also home to a serious and growing crime problem.

Approximately 60% of the Leech Lake community’s Native residents struggle with serious drug and alcohol addictions. For many Leech Lake offenders, substance abuse is also linked to other root causes of crime, such as family violence and historical trauma.


Because Minnesota is subject to Public Law 280, Leech Lake citizens who break the law are adjudicated in state court. As it was constituted, however, the state justice system could not address these root causes of crime.

Joint Tribal-State JurisdictionHonoring Nations

A Joint Court to Rehabilitate Offenders

Leech Lake’s leaders recognized that crime reduction was a goal shared by all area residents and leaders, both Native and non-Native. To accomplish this goal, they sought to break the cycle of criminal behavior by using both tribal and state programming and resources to create a strengths-based, wrap-around support system for non-violent, repeat offenders with substance abuse problems.

The new system is embodied in a Wellness Court, created through tribal-county partnerships, that is focused on rehabilitation rather than punishment.

Joint Tribal-State Jurisdiction, From the collection of: Honoring Nations
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Joint Tribal-State Jurisdiction, From the collection of: Honoring Nations
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Joint Tribal-State Jurisdiction, From the collection of: Honoring Nations
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As of 2011, Leech Lake had signed two “Joint Powers” agreements to formalize judicial cooperation. In the agreements, the tribal and county courts pledge to “jointly exercise the powers and authorities conferred upon us as judges of our respective jurisdictions.” The tribe’s two joint Wellness Courts (in Cass and Itasca counties) monitor and provide services to participants after their sentencing in county court.

Joint Tribal-State JurisdictionHonoring Nations

Both tribal citizens and non-Native clients who are eligible for the Wellness Court program can opt to participate instead of completing their sentences. This customized and coordinated approach is producing remarkable results.

The Wellness Court has maintained an impressive recidivism rate of .03%, with only 1 of their 35 graduates reoffending since 2006. A program participant who had been incarcerated over 15 times and had been an addict since age 13 noted, “This program has taught me how to change.”

Joint Tribal-State JurisdictionHonoring Nations

A New Spirit of Collaboration

Leech Lake’s initiative to establish the Wellness Courts changes clients’ lives, but it also has a wider impact. These pioneering partnerships help to overcome generations of racial tension and suspicion between the tribe and its non-Native neighbors. Perhaps most significantly, the Wellness Courts have raised awareness of the Leech Lake Tribal Court as a legitimate and capable court.

One county district court judge noted that he used to think tribal courts were inferior to state and federal courts but has “come to understand that they are equal and parallel systems.”

Joint Tribal-State JurisdictionHonoring Nations

Bringing the Lessons Home

By partnering with county district courts, the Leech Lake Tribal Court is able to participate in sentencing, bring the principles of restorative justice into the state system, and help determine and supervise appropriate treatment options.

Joint Tribal-State JurisdictionHonoring Nations

Despite its limited judicial infrastructure, the nation had a strong desire to intercede, and a strong commitment to holistic care rooted in traditional values. It was with this determination that Leech Lake set aside a history of interracial tension to work with neighboring counties to create a Wellness Court that helps people overcome their drug and alcohol addictions.

Joint Tribal-State JurisdictionHonoring Nations

In Indian Country, intergovernmental and inter-agency collaborations can help create safer communities. Effective tribal courts are a hallmark of the legitimate exercise of sovereignty. Success in one inter-governmental arena can lead to other opportunities for collaboration.

Credits: Story

HONORING NATIONS: 2010 Awardee
Joint Tribal-State Jurisdiction
Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe

Text provided by:
The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development
Honoring Nations Awards 2010
https://hpaied.org/sites/default/files/publications/joint%20tribal-state%20jurisdiction.pdf

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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