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Passage of the Indian Reorganization Act in 1934 encouraged tribes to enact their own laws and establish their own modern tribal courts. Modern tribal courts are under tribal control and are directly oriented to the needs of tribal members. Some tribes have developed a hybrid or blended judicial system, incorporating the dispute resolution elements of indigenous or Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) courts and a more modern focus to ensure due process. In 2002, about 60% (188) of all the tribes had some form of a tribal justice system. 

The court systems operating in Indian country vary by tribe. The Indian country judicial system revolves around a core of four legal institutions: Court of Indian Offenses (CFR courts), tribal courts of appeal, tribal courts of general jurisdiction, and indigenous forums.

Data Collections & Surveys

• Census of Tribal Justice Agencies in American Indian and Alaska Native Tribal Jurisdictions (CTJA02)

Publications & Products

Tribal Crime Data-Collection Activities, 2020 Describes activities by the Bureau of Justice Statistics to collect and improve data on crime and justice in Indian country, including data-collection programs and activities during 2020.
	Full report (PDF 550K) | Data tables (Zip format) Part of the Tribal Crime Data Collection Activities Series
Tribal Crime Data Collection Activities, 2017 Describes Bureau of Justice Statistics' (BJS) activities to collect and improve data on crime and justice in Indian country, as required by the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010.
	Full report (PDF 401K) | ASCII file (30K) | Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Spreadsheet 1K) Part of the Tribal Crime Data Collection Activities Series
Tribal Crime Data Collection Activities, 2015 Describes Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) activities to collect and improve data on crime and justice in Indian country, as required by the Tribal Law and Order Act, 2010.
	Summary (PDF 205KB) | Full report (PDF 790KB) | ASCII file (37KB) | Comma-delimited format (csv) (Zip format 6KB) Part of the Tribal Crime Data Collection Activities Series
Tribal Crime Data Collection Activities, 2014 Describes Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) activities to collect and improve data on crime and justice in Indian country, as required by the Tribal Law and Order Act, 2010.
	Full report (PDF 465K) | ASCII file (23K) Part of the Tribal Crime Data Collection Activities Series
Tribal Crime Data Collection Activities, 2013 Describes Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) activities to collect and improve data on crime and justice in Indian country, as required by the Tribal Law and Order Act, 2010.
	Full report (PDF 888K) | ASCII file (34K) | Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Zip format 23K) Part of the Tribal Crime Data Collection Activities Series
Tribal Crime Data Collection Activities, 2012 Describes Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) activities to collect and improve data on crime and justice in Indian country, as required by the Tribal Law and Order Act, 2010.
	Full report (PDF 1.71M) | ASCII file (23K) | Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Zip format 39K) Part of the Tribal Crime Data Collection Activities Series
Jails in Indian Country, 2011 2,239 INMATES IN INDIAN COUNTRY JAILS IN 2011, UP 5.7 PERCENT FROM 2010
	Press Release Part of the Jails in Indian Country Series
Compendium of Tribal Crime Data, 2011 Focuses on BJS's existing data on key criminal justice issues in Indian country and addresses gaps in tribal crime data.
Census of Tribal Justice Agencies in Indian Country, 2002 Presents detailed information gathered on tribal law enforcement agencies, tribal courts and services, and criminal record systems from the 2002 Census of Tribal Justice Agencies in American Indian Jurisdictions.
	Full report (PDF 337K) | ASCII file (34K) | Spreadsheet (Zip format 60K) | 2002 Census of Tribal Justice Agencies in Indian Country Data File (Spreadsheet 350K)
1984 State Trial Court Jurisdiction Guide for Statistical Reporting - Summary Tables These 19 summary tables provide information relating to the completeness and comparability of State trial court statistics for 1984.
	Full report (PDF)

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Related Links

• Jails In Indian Country
• Tribal Justice and Safety in Indian Country
• Tribal Law Enforcement