Dakota Plains Legal Services (DPLS) implemented the Tribal Law Codification Project to codify the laws of each tribe in its service area to ensure that tribal advocates and tribal courts have ready access to current tribal laws. Each tribe has its own government and court system and often it is very difficult for tribal advocates to know what laws a tribe has passed since some tribes do not keep comprehensive or accessible compilations of their laws. Since the implementation of this project, a DPLS paralegal has compiled and organized session laws and appellate opinions into bound volumes by subject area. DPLS usually obtains these laws and decisions through a tribal secretary's office or a clerk of courts located on each of the nine reservations DPLS currently serves. DPLS is currently developing a website to post the final codifications, decisions, and opinions for public access.
In addition to the codifications, as part of the Wakpa Sica Reconciliation Place project in South Dakota, discussions are ongoing about the possibility of creating a unified Lakota Nation Supreme Court that would hear appeals from all the different Lakota Nations. A component of this project would include building a legal center that would serve, among other purposes, as a central repository for the laws of each participating tribal government.
Contact Information:
Ron Hutchinson Executive Director Dakota Plains Legal Services 160 Second Street P.O. Box 727 Mission, SD 57555 Phone: (605) 856-4444 Fax: (605) 856-2075 Email
LSC:
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