Tribal Laws/Codes

Black's Law Dictionary defines the word "code" as a systematic collection ... of laws, rules, or regulations. A(n) ... official compilation of laws ...   consolidated and classified by subject matter." The individual codes linked and referenced here are tribal laws organized by subject matter. Unless otherwise noted, the term Tribal Code refers to an individual Indian Nation's compilation of their laws.

Code Development: Process and Structure by American Indian Development Associates provides tribal juvenile code writers and developers an overview of issues to consider in the code development process.

1. Chickasaw Nation Code has been posted by the Chickasaw Nation.
2. Colorado River Indian Tribes Tribal Laws and Ordinances posted by the Colorado River Indian Tribes.
3. Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of Montana 2003 Tribal Law and Order Code posted by Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of Montana.
4. Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation Law and Order Code is posted by the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.
5. Confederated Tribes of Siletz Tribal Ordinances posted by Confederated Tribes of Siletz.
6. Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Tribal Code posted by Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.
7. Coquille Indian Tribe Tribal Code posted by Coquille Indian Tribe.
8. Fort Peck Tribes Tribal Code posted by the Fort Peck Tribes.
9. Ho-Chunk Nation has posted the Ho-Chunk Nation Code.
10. Hoopa Tribal Court Code posted by Hoopa Valley Tribe.
11. Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe Tribal Code posted by Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe.
12. Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians Tribal Code and Statutes posted by Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians.
13. Nez Perce Tribe Tribal Code posted by the Nez Perce Tribe.
14. Oneida Nation of New York Tribal Codes and Ordinances posted by Oneida Nation of New York.
15. Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians Tribal Code (Updates since 11/15/05) posted by Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.
16. Sipayik members of the Passamaquoddy Tribe Series of enacted laws posted by Sipayik members of the Passamaquoddy Tribe.
17. Skokomish Tribal Code posted by the Skokomish Nation.
18. Stockbridge-Munsee Community Tribal Law is posted by Stockbridge-Munsee Community.
19. Tohono O'odham Nation Code is posted by ArizonaNativeNet.
20. Codes & Regulations of the Tulalip Nation posted by Tulalip Nation.
21. White Mountain Apache Tribal Code posted by the White Mountain Apache Tribe.
22. Winnebago Tribal Court Code posted by Winnebago Nation.
23. Zuni Children's Code is posted by the Pueblo of Zuni.

The National Indian Law Library (NILL) has posted the following Tribal Justice Codes:

1. Blackfeet Tribal Law and Order Code
2. Blue Lake Rancheria Ordinances
3. [Cedarville Rancheria Ordinances]
4. Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma Law and Order Code
5. Chitimacha Comprehensive Codes of Justice
6. Colville Tribal Law and Order Code
7. Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians Tribal Code
8. Coquille Indian Tribal Code
9. Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana Judicial Codes
10. Cherokee Code
11. Elk Valley Rancheria, California Ordinances
12. Ely Shoshone Tribe Law and Order Code
13. Fort McDermitt Paiute-Shoshone Tribe of Oregon and Nevada Law and Order Code
14. Fort McDowell Yavapai Community Arizona Law and Order Code
15. Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon [Ordinances]
16. Grand Traverse Band Code: Statutes of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians
17. Ho-Chunk Nation Code (HCC)
18. Hoopa Valley Tribal Code
19. Hopi Indian Tribe Law and Order Code
20. Little River Band of Ottawa Indians Ordinances and Regulations
21. Lower Sioux Community in Minnesota Judicial Code
22. Lummi Nation Code of Laws
23. Makah Law and Order Code
24. Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, Tribal Laws and Rules of Court
25. Mille Lacs Band Statutes Annotated
26. Nez Perce Tribal Code
27. Nisqually Tribal Code
28. Oglala Sioux Tribe Law and Order Code
29. Oneida Indian Nation (New York) Codes and Rules
30. Pawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, Law and Order Code
31. Pit River Tribe of California Statutes
32. Poarch Band of Creek Indians Code
33. Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewas, Code of Laws
34. Redding Rancheria Ordinances
35. Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law and Order Code (Includes Cultural Resources Management Code previously linked here alone.)
36. Confederated Salish and Kootenai: Tribal Law and Order Code
37. San Ildefonso Pueblo Code
38. Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians Tribal Code
39. Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon: Tribal Government Operations
40. Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe: Tribal Codes
41. Skokomish Tribal Code
42. St. Regis Mohawk Tribe Code
43. Stockbridge-Munsee Tribal Law
44. Susanville Indian Rancheria Ordinances
45. Swinomish Tribe Code
46. Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Approved Ordinances
47. Tohono O'odham Code
48. Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indian Tribe, Tribal Code
49. Tulalip Tribes of Washington Codes and Regulations
50. Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation Law and Order Code
51. White Earth Band of Chippewa Comprehensive Law and Order Manual
52. Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska Business Corporation Code
53. Yankton Sioux Tribal Code
54. Yomba Shoshone Tribe Law and Order Code
55. Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Code of Laws

The National Tribal Justice Resource Center has an Online Searchable Database of Tribal Constitutions and Tribal Codes and has posted the following codes:

1. Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma Tribal Code
2. Bay Mills Indian Community Laws and Codes
3. Blackfeet Tribal Code
4. Chitimacha Comprehensive Codes of Justice
5. Colville Tribal Law and Order Code
6. Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians Tribal Code
7. Coquille Comprehensive Tribal Code
8. Crow Tribal Code
9. Crow Civil Procedures
10. Duckwater Shoshone Tribe Law and Order Code
11. Eastern Band of Cherokee Tribal Code
12. Ely Shoshone Tribal Law and Order Code
13. Fort McDowell Yavapai Community Arizona Law and Order Code
14. Fort Peck Code of Justice
15. Grand Ronde Tribal Codes
16. Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians Tribal Code
17. Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians Tribal Code
18. Ho-Chunk Appellate Procedure
19. Ho-Chunk Civil Procedure
20. Ho-Chunk Rules for Admission to Practice
21. Hopi Law and Order Code
22. Little River Band of Ottawa Indians Ordinances and Regulations
23. Lower Brule Sioux Tribal Judicial Code
24. Makah Law and Order Tribal Code
25. Mashantucket Tribal Code Volume I
26. Mashantucket Tribal Code Volume 2
27. Mashantucket Tribal Code Volume 3
28. Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians Tribal Code
29. Nez Perce Tribal Code
30. Nisqually Tribal Code
31. Oglala Sioux Tribal Law And Order Comprehensive Codes
32. Pawnee Tribe of Oklahoma Law and Order Code
33. Poarch Band of Creek Indians Code of Justice
34. Poarch Band of Creek Indians Ordinances
35. Red Cliff Band Of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians Comprehensive Tribal Code
36. Salish & Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation Tribal Laws, Codified
37. San Ildefonso Pueblo Tribal Code
38. Sault Ste. Marie Tribe Of Chippewa Indians Tribal Code Chapter 76
39. Sisseton Wahpeton Sioux Tribe of the Lake Traverse Reservation Code of Law
40. Skokomish Indians Tribal Code
41. Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon: Tribal Code and Government Operations
42. Susanville Indian Rancheria Ordinances
43. St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Law Code
44. Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indian Tribe, Tribal Code
45. Tunica Biloxie Articles of Incorporation
46. Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians of North Dakota Bill of Rights
47. Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation Law and Order Code
48. White Earth Tribal Council Resolution Clarifying The Jurisdictional Reach Of The Conservation Court
49. White Earth Band of Chippewa Judicial Code
50. White Mountain Apache Comprehensive Tribal Code
51. Yankton Sioux Tribal Code
52. Yavapai Apache Nation of Fort McDowell Law and Order Code
53. Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo Tribal Code

The Native American Constitution and Law Digitization Project is a joint project of the University of Oklahoma Law School, the National Indian Law Library (NILL) of the Native American Rights Fund, and Native American tribes. The following Tribal Codes can be found on this outstanding site.

1. Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma
2. Colville Confederated Tribes' Code
3. Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon's Resolution
4. Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewas' Code
5. Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Codified (CSKT Laws Codified) (1999)
6. San Ildefonso Pueblo Code
7. White Mountain Apache Code (Revised 2000)

The National Indian Law Library (NILL) will be obtaining print and CD-ROM copies of the recently published 2005 edition of the Navajo Nation Code Annotated. More information about this publication can be obtained by contacting the Navajo Nation Office of Legislative Council at 928-871-7166.

Sample or Model Codes

The following sample or model codes were not developed for any specific Indian Nation, but were intended to be used by tribal governments as a starting point which is to be built upon, modified and adapted according to the needs and customs of each individual Indian Nation. The majority of these sample codes provide options and commentaries for tribes to consider in evaluating and adapting the code to meet their specific needs.

1. Office of Environmental Health and Engineering in the Indian Health Service has posted a Model Tribal Head Start Health and Safety Code.
2. Violence Against Women Online Resources website post a model Tribal Domestic Violence Full Faith and Credit Ordinance.
3. The Native American Rights Fund has developed a Sample Tribal Notice Law. Notice laws generally require notice to governments of cases in their courts that question sovereignty or jurisdiction. If a government is not already involved in the case, notice laws allow the government to intervene or otherwise participate in the case to represent its interests.
4. A sample Tribal Housing Code is available from the Tribal Law and Policy Institute for Download in Word format (this code is a 1999 revision of a code which was developed for HUD's Office of Native American Programs in 1996).
5. A sample Tribal Juvenile Justice Code is available from the Tribal Court Clearinghouse for Download in Word 7 for Windows 95 format (This code was developed by the National Indian Justice Center for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1988).
6. The American Indian Law Center, Inc., has developed a Model Tribal Research Code to assist tribes in adopting appropriate protections for their members when medical or sociological research was proposed to study tribal members.
7. The University of Montana School of Law has a Sample Tribal Commercial Code (1995 Official Text) which adopts the new format for Article 9 - Secured Transactions, as proposed by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws.
8. The Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc. has posted a Sample Tribal Solid Waste Management Code.
9. The Northern California Indian Development Council lists a Sample Tribal Code (California specific) and a Sample Tribal Business Code.
10. The Regional Tribal Justice Center has posted the following model codes:
    1. Model Tribal Air Quality Ordinance
    2. Model Tribal Solid Waste Disposal Ordinance
    3. Model Tribal Water Quality Ordinance
    4. Model Tribal Drinking Water Ordinance

Tribal Code Development Resources

HUD's Office of Native American Programs (ONAP) identified the need for a comprehensive Tribal Legal Code Project which includes not only a comprehensive revised Tribal Housing Code, but also includes expanded tribal legal resource materials. Tribal governments need resource information concerning additional related tribal codes in order to facilitate housing and community development in Indian country. These additional related tribal codes might include zoning, land use and planning, building, commercial, corporations, environmental review, and probate codes. The following is an overview of the resources contained within this Tribal Legal Code Project:

The Native American Constitution and Law Digitization Project is a joint project of the University of Oklahoma Law School, the National Indian Law Library of the Native American Rights Fund, and Native American tribes. This site has also posted the following Tribal Commercial Code Documents:

1. The Committee on Liaison with Native American Tribes of the National Commissioners of Uniform State Laws Background of Committee and Project
2. Tribal Secured Transactions Law - An Important Tool for Tribal Economic Development
3. Draft Cherokee Nation Uniform Commercial Code by John Parris