Assault Case Key to Tribal Justice System

Sioux actor and activist Russell Means went on trial before the Navajo Supreme Court in a case that tests the legitimacy of the American Indian justice system. The court convened at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., to hear an assault case against Means, a longtime leader of the American Indian Movement. Means is accused of beating his father-in-law in 1997 in Arizona’s Navajo Nation, but as an Oglala Sioux, he insists he cannot be prosecuted by another tribe. Tribal leaders nationwide are watching the case, as it could mean the erosion of their rights to handle crimes on their own lands. Means has vowed to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary. The high court has consistently scaled back tribal court powers over the last two decades.