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This is the archived discussion of the TFAR nomination for the article below. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as Wikipedia talk:Today's featured article/requests). Please do not modify this page.
Ex parte Crow Dog (1883) was a case that involved a conflict between two members of the same Native American tribe on reservation land where one, Crow Dog, killed the other. The Supreme Court of the United States held that a federal court did not have jurisdiction to try Crow Dog, a member of the Brulé band of the Lakota Sioux, when the offense had already been tried by the tribal council. The tribe handled the case according to Sioux tradition, and Crow Dog paid restitution. However, the United States government then also tried Crow Dog for murder, and he was sentenced to hang. On his appeal to the Supreme Court, the court held that unless Congress authorized it, the courts had no jurisdiction to try the case. This case resulted in Congress enacting the Major Crimes Act in 1885, placing 15 major crimes under federal jurisdiction if committed by an Indian against another Indian on a reservation or tribal land. This case was the beginning of the plenary power legal doctrine that has been used in Indian case law to limit tribal sovereignty. (Full article...)
