Tribal Nations, Territories and DC

Who has authority on tribal lands

18 public statements from 2026 candidates · 2 related bills

§1The range of views

Why this matters: It decides who can arrest and prosecute people, collect taxes and set rules on reservations, which affects tribal members and others who live or work there.

Drafted by AI, then checked for neutral wording in a separate AI review. It describes the question and the main positions, not any candidate's view. Facts link to their sources.

How power over policing, courts, taxes and regulation on tribal lands is divided among tribal governments, states and the federal government.

  1. Expand tribal governments' authority, including over crimes by non-Native people on tribal lands
  2. Keep the current division of authority
  3. Give states more authority over crimes, taxes and regulation on tribal lands

These options describe policies, not people. The order is not a ranking.

§2What candidates have said

Why this matters: Statements candidates made publicly, summarized in plain words with a link to where they said it. Candidates who haven't spoken publicly on this issue aren't listed.

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

Expand tribal governments' authority, including over crimes by non-Native people on tribal lands (6)

  • Christopher Campbell KY Senate
    His campaign website says he would push for legislation recognizing the inherent sovereignty of all Native American tribes, allowing them to operate as domestic dependent nations.1
  • Rick Bennett ME Governor
    His campaign website says he co-sponsored bills to restore the Wabanaki Nations' access to federal laws and to carry out the remaining recommendations of a task force on the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act.2
  • Hannah M. Pingree ME Governor
    Her campaign website says she supports full tribal sovereignty, believes the Wabanaki Nations deserve the same rights as other federally recognized tribes and would work to pass legislation within her first 100 days.3
  • Alani Bankhead MT Senate
    Her campaign website says tribes should regain authority over every crime committed on tribal land, by anyone, and that limits on tribal court sentences should be lifted.4
  • Trygve Hammer ND-AL
    His campaign website's tribal sovereignty page says he supports tribal civil and criminal jurisdiction over tribal lands and expanding tribal criminal jurisdiction, including over drug offenses.5
  • Chris Henry OR Senate
    His platform supports strengthening tribal jurisdiction and self-determination in line with treaties and federal law, and returning land to tribal nations where appropriate.6

Statements that don't match one option (12)

  • LaVeta Davenport MI-1
    The Green Party of Michigan 2026 platform text on her campaign website, which says she fully aligns with it, expresses support for the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and for First Nations' efforts to secure tribal sovereignty, land reform and treaty rights.7,8
  • Zebulon Featherly MI-1
    His campaign website says he backs tribal sovereignty and self-determination for Native American communities, along with preserving Native cultures and traditions.9
  • Lydia Christensen MI Senate
    Her campaign website says she would restore co-management agreements with tribal nations, make tribal consultation mandatory and binding, and protect treaty rights.10
  • Trina Swanson MN-8
    The priorities page says she is committed to the federal government's trust responsibility to the Tribal Nations in the district and to dealing directly with each one as a government, and that she will respect Tribal sovereignty.11
  • Sam Forstag MT-1
    His campaign website says he would work on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons crisis by closing gaps in who has jurisdiction inside tribal boundaries so that people who are not tribal members can be held accountable for crimes committed there, increasing funding for tribal law enforcement, and holding the federal government accountable when it fails to investigate. It also says he would propose legislation to protect the government-to-government relationship with tribes and to require consultation with tribes when federally funded programs roll out on tribal lands.12
  • Brian J Miller MT-2
    His campaign website says tribal autonomy should be respected, that he would treat tribes as equal sovereigns and work with them on policies and funding that respect their independence, and that he would make missing and murdered Indigenous women in Montana's tribal lands a priority.13
  • Helene Neville ND-AL
    Her campaign website says tribal sovereignty rests on treaties and federal law, which recognize tribal governments' authority to govern their communities and manage their lands, and says she would support policies that uphold treaty obligations.14
  • Teresa Leger Fernandez NM-3
    Her campaign website says she works to make sure the federal government meets its duty to protect the sovereign authority and jurisdiction of Native American tribes over their lands and resources, along with their right to govern themselves, and to consult with tribes as one government to another.15
  • N'Kiyla Jasmine Thomas OK Senate
    Her campaign website says she is dedicated to preserving tribal sovereignty and working with Native leaders to protect tribal land, rights and cultural heritage.16
  • Cyndi Munson OK Governor
    Her campaign website says Oklahoma's tribal nations are sovereign, and that she would work to repair the state's relationship with them and make the Secretary of Native American Affairs a permanent cabinet post.17
  • Robert E Brooks Sr OK Governor
    His tribal relations plan says he would treat tribal nations as sovereign partners, meet regularly with tribal leaders and try to settle disagreements through negotiation before litigation.18
  • Walid Hakim SC Governor
    His platform says he would review the state's treaties and agreements with Native American tribes for compliance and acknowledge the sovereignty of all tribes in South Carolina.19

§3Related bills

Why this matters: Bills from 2023–2026 that bear on this issue, with how Congress handled them.