ABSTRACT
Tribal courts went largely ignored by state and federal courts until about 1972, when reservations began setting up gambling casinos and other tourist attractions, said Houghton County Circuit Court Judge Garfield Hood. Casino gambling is bringing Indians and non-Indians together as never before, Hood said, The growing industry has also brought more companies—construction firms, convenience stores, gas stations—to the reservation. More and more visitors and businesses are finding out that the state's seven Indian tribes have their own laws, and that they are subject to them when they're on the reservations. The Michigan Bar Association formed a committee to try to clarify jurisdiction issues, said Hood, co-chairman of the group's Standing Committee on Indian Law. Tribal courts have jurisdiction only over civil issues—criminal issues are subject to state law—and their power applies to both Indians and nonIndians.
