A Little Good News

Senator Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota) has introduced a bill to address the epidemic of white-on-Indian crime in Indian Country. While far short of a full restoration of sovereignty, it does strengthen the power of tribal courts and tribal police and force some measure of accountability on the Department of Justice. It's a good start, but Congress needs to go further and repeal the odious Major Crimes Act outright and explicate overturn the Oliphant decision (which they can do since the case was based on a transparently false reading of Congressional intent or rather the lack thereof).