National Native Persons Law Attorneys Introduction:

Legal issues arising between native persons (typically Indians) and non-native persons are represented by native persons law attorneys. This is an area of law that continues to expand due to a rise in tribal economic development across the country. There is an increased interaction between native persons and non-natives in the areas of business, employment, and recreation on Indian reservations. 

Attorneys operating in this arena must be well versed in tribal law and understand tribal sovereignty—basically, that tribes operate in the U.S. as independent political communities, making their own laws. Tribes have their own court system and abide by its rules and processes. Therefore, tribes have common law sovereign immunity and cannot be sued. This immunity typically extends to tribal businesses, such as casinos, and also to business transactions on and off the reservation.

Attorneys dealing with tribal issues must determine if tribal immunity has been waived. If not, there is probably no point in filing suit against the tribe. However, attorneys may be able to negotiate with the tribes for reaching an agreement of limited waiver. Native persons law attorneys may be asked to defend a non-native person if a native is trying to sue that person. Here, the attorney must examine issues of jurisdiction and where the incident took place—on or off the reservation.

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