Oliphant’s Obstruction: An Analysis of How Oliphant v. Suquamish Obstructs Justice for Indigenous Survivors of Domestic and Sexual Abuse and Proposal for Congressional Abrogation Open Access
Rubinstein, Sophia (Spring 2026)
Abstract
The jurisdictional barriers created by the 1978 decision in Oliphant v. Suquamish have prevented Indigenous women who survive domestic and sexual violence from pursuing justice within Tribal courts. This thesis examines those barriers from both a historical and personal lens. Previous research has demonstrated that Indigenous women face disproportionate rates of sexual and domestic violence at the hands of non-Native offenders. It also shows that these attacks are amplified by Tribes’ inability to prosecute such offenders within their courts. Using evidence from court documents, letters, and interviews, this thesis identifies the specific areas of obstruction within the United States legal system and pairs them with testimony to the lived consequences that these barriers create. After establishing the multiple levels of jurisdictional barriers, this thesis proposes a solution in the form of Congressional abrogation of Oliphant through the Violence Against Women Act, granting Tribes full and unconditional jurisdiction to prosecute crimes of violence against women. Moreover, the solution utilizes a survivor-dictated jurisdictional framework, where the survivors can select one of multiple legal jurisdictional options to pursue their case. Restoring Tribes’ ability to prosecute offenders through a “survivor-choice” model does not just restore sovereignty to Indigenous legal institutions, but to the surviving women themselves.
Table of Contents
Chapter One: Introduction 1
Chapter Two: The Development of US-Indigenous Law as a Tool for Exploitation 6
Logic of the Decision 13
Immediate Impact 15
Chapter Three: Navigating a Jurisdictional Maze 23
Crime Reporting and First Response 25
Investigation and Service Allocation 31
Trial Proceedings and Sentencing 35
Chapter Four: Defining Terms and Their Context: A Brief History of Violence Against Women on Indigenous Land 39
Chapter Five: Oliphant’s Obstruction Through Lived Testimony 44
Method of Discussion 44
Through the Loopholes: A Narrative Oriented Account of American Legal Failures 49
Chapter Six: Recommendations 68
Existing Solutions and Their Efficacy 68
Survivor’s Choice: A Proposal for Remediation of Oliphant 72
Reasons to Prefer This Proposal 79
Chapter Seven: Conclusion 89
Works Cited 93
About this Honors Thesis
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