INDIAN COMMON-LAW - THE ROLE OF CUSTOM IN AMERICAN-INDIAN TRIBAL COURTS - (PART I OF II)

Many American Indian Reservations have had modern tribal courts for at least 60 years. Have the distinctive social norms of Indians worked t heir way into judge-made law, or are tribal courts much like state cou rts? Is there Indian common law? To answer these questions, we intervi ewed tribal judges on reservations throughout the West. We found disti nctively Indian social norms, both substantial and procedural, pervadi ng tribal courts. Many of these norms are specific to particular tribe s and some are shared by many tribes. Indian common laws (in the plura l) are tribe-specific, so there is a comparative law of Indian common law. Applying the rules of conflict of laws requires knowledge of Indi an common laws.