More Questions Than Answers: Plains Commerce Bank V. Long Family Land and Cattle Company, Inc. And the U.S. Supreme Court's Failure to Define the Extent of Tribal Civil Authority over Nonmembers on Non-Indian Land‪.‬

I. INTRODUCTION Since the issue of tribal sovereignty was first addressed in 1832 by Chief Justice John Marshall, tribes have been recognized to posses the powers of inherent sovereignty over their territory and people. (1) Despite changes in federal Indian law and policy, this foundational principle remained intact until 1978 when the U.S. Supreme Court began to depart from traditional notions of tribal sovereignty. (2) In the civil context, this departure is clearly evidenced in Montana v. United States, (3) in which the Court adopted the general principle that tribes lack civil authority over non-Indians, and thereby allowed for tribal civil jurisdiction over non-Indians only under two narrow exceptions. (4) The Montana ruling provides an excellent example of the Supreme Court's use of federal common law to diminish tribal sovereign power, as the Court's decision found little support in prior precedent or federal policy. (5)