Dollar General vs. Choctaw Indians: A decade-long battle over the jurisdiction of the sexual-assault case

Having a Native land, Choctaw Indians have been granted the sovereignty to take over legal cases or issues that are experienced by their people. However, with this current issue, the main premise is whether or not the tribal courts of the Indian country have jurisdiction over non-Native individuals.

The decade-long battle is about the case of a 13-year old Choctaw who worked in a Dollar general company. As reported by Slate the child purportedly have experienced being sexually harassed by his Dollar general employer and when the child's family decided to file a case against him on their tribal court, the Dollar general employer have objected the case. He is claiming that tribal courts do not have civil jurisdiction over non-Indian individuals.

However, as stated by Vice, the Dollar general store is in Choctaw's Native land which complicates the situation since when that incident happened, the Dollar general employer is well in the territory of the Choctaw Indians. So does this give the Choctaw courts to hear the case of the 13-year old child?

Apparently, that is not the case so. It seems like the fate of the Choctaws is grim. As reported by the Indian Country Today Media Network, it was word-for-word stated by the side of the Choctaws that ""the Tribes entered the United States and were incorporated into [the] country." This statement was then used by the opposing side against them. The lawyer of the Dollar general argues that since the tribe was incorporated in the United States therefore they are subjected to the tradition and constitution of the country.

Furthermore, the Indian Country Today Media Network mentioned that the Choctaws have failed to defend their argument against the Dollar general. The Dollar general have further argued their case by basing it on Oliphant which states that Indian courts can only have civil jurisdiction over non-Indians only if permitted by the Congress.

The argument about this case is long as both sides have something to defend. However, will such issues, if repeated, turn out the same way? Choctaws having a challenge in defending their people who have been harmed in their land by non-Indians?

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Choctaw Indians, Choctaw, Dollar General, Indian courts, choctaw indians sexual assault case, tribal courts, dollar general sexual assault case

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