Native American reservations

[tommyg]

I'm planning a motorcycle trip to Colorado I will be on the highway except for gas stops
I will be crossing some reservations any advice will be appreciated
I know my Texas permit will be good all the way but how about the reservation crossings

[apostate]

The pragmatic answer is don't give them a reason to stop you.

Under Federal Law, I believe Tribal Police have no jurisdiction over me for victimless crimes, i.e. State Jurisdiction is exclusive. So they have no legal authority to enforce Tribal gun laws on me. On the other hand, if I fail the attitude test, it could easily turn into a situation where I would eventually beat the rap, but not the ride.

[Oldgringo]

The pragmatic answer is don't give them a reason to stop you.

{snip}

There it is in a nutshell, whether on a reservation or anywhere else. BTW, I'm writing this from the Confederated Salish, Kootenai, Pend 0'Reille reservation in NW Montana.

[Warhorse545]

Just do your thing and you will be fine. Drive through following speed limit and not breaking any traffic laws. It is just the same as leaving your house and going to work. You get stupid, then well your going to have to deal with it.

[EEllis]

You will be fine while you are traveling but few reservations acknowledge chl permits from outside agencies. If you do get "caught" depending on the situation the least you should expect is you getting escorted off the reservation. The main roads you are fine but realize many reservations require approval for travel anywhere else. Take a side road you may be breaking their law. Different Tribes handle situations differently but AZ for instance has tribes that will seize your gun and your car and then put you out. You can try and get your car back but you must go thru tribal authorities and if you aren't a member they don't and won't give a darn about you. Since you are just passing thru I wouldn't worry to much just be aware and look for signage at stores if you make a stop and respect the tribal laws and rules and you should be fine. Don't cop an attitude with tribal cops. If you are not a resident or tribe member you have very little "rights" and includes the right to even be on the tribes land.

[Rex B]

If you spend any time driving around in Oklahoma, you will drive in and out of reservations daily. Just don't give them a reason to stop you, that's my policy.

[EEllis]

The pragmatic answer is don't give them a reason to stop you.

Under Federal Law, I believe Tribal Police have no jurisdiction over me for victimless crimes, i.e. State Jurisdiction is exclusive. So they have no legal authority to enforce Tribal gun laws on me. On the other hand, if I fail the attitude test, it could easily turn into a situation where I would eventually beat the rap, but not the ride.

This isn't always true. Some tribal cops are sworn state officers, some come from the BIA (fed officers) and not every reservation is the same as to their legal relationship with the Feds. The big thing is for the most part the Tribal cops don't care about you any farther than getting your butt, or any non resident, off their land when you screw up. If a non Indian commits a crime and it doesn't involve a Indian or property belonging to an Indian, then it's a State jurisdiction offence. If it involves and Indian or Indian property and a non Indian then it's Federal. Indian on Indian is normally tribal tho at a certain level the Feds can assume jurisdiction for "major crimes". Different reservation law enforcement have different standards and authority depending on their training and licensing. Tribal police can arrest you it's just that the Feds must prosecute you not the tribal courts but even now some tribal prosecutors have been trained as federal prosecutors and in theory can prosecute for both tribal and federal crimes.

[pancho]

It sounds like you're saying State and Federal law applies to non Indians, but the local rules on the reservation only apply to Indians who live on the res. So if the OP follows the State gun laws then he's legal driving through.

[EEllis]

It sounds like you're saying State and Federal law applies to non Indians, but the local rules on the reservation only apply to Indians who live on the res. So if the OP follows the State gun laws then he's legal driving through.

If he's driving thru on a major road he's good. On your other statement it's just not that easy. The criminal tribal courts have jurisdiction only over tribal members but the "rules" also often have a civil consequence that if you live or do business on the Rez they do have jurisdiction over non Indians. Some states have full criminal jurisdiction over reservations others don't and it falls to the Feds. The point being there is no one simple answer to anything when disusing this type of situation because not all Reservation are the same, have the same laws, under the same jurisdiction, etc.

[oohrah]

I love Longmire.