US Legal System

Article I. Section 8. Clause 3. [The Congress shall have Power] . . . To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

In the United States, indian tribes are recognized as having semi-autonomous status. Although this sovereignty is more limited than that recognized for a foreign country, tribes create laws to govern their people and lands. These laws usually include a tribal constitution and/or charter and a tribal code. There are also tribal bodies that perform judicial and administrative functions. The legal system varies by tribe as does the public availability of its laws.