Cite as: 533 U. S. 353 (2001)
Opinion of O'Connor, J.
Justice O'Connor, with whom Justice Stevens and Justice Breyer join, concurring in part and concurring in the judgment.
The Court holds that a tribe has no power to regulate the activities of state officials enforcing state law on land owned and controlled by the tribe. The majority's sweeping opinion, without cause, undermines the authority of tribes to " 'make their own laws and be ruled by them.' " Strate v. A-1 Contractors, 520 U. S. 438, 459 (1997) (quoting Williams v. Lee, 358 U. S. 217, 220 (1959)). I write separately because Part II of the Court's decision is unmoored from our precedents.
I
A
Today, the Court finally resolves that Montana v. United States, 450 U. S. 544 (1981), governs a tribe's civil jurisdiction over nonmembers regardless of land ownership. Ante, at 358-360. This is done with little fanfare, but the holding is significant because we have equivocated on this question in the past.
In Montana, we held that the Tribe in that case could not regulate the hunting and fishing activities of nonmembers on nontribal land located within the geographical boundaries of the reservation. 450 U. S., at 557. We explained that the Tribe's jurisdiction was limited to two instances—where a consensual relationship exists between the Tribe and non-members, or where jurisdiction was necessary to preserve tribal sovereignty—and we concluded that neither instance applied. Id., at 565-567; ante, at 358-360.
Given the facts of Montana, it was not clear whether the status of the persons being regulated, or the status of the land where the hunting and fishing occurred, led the Court to develop Montana's jurisdictional rule and its exceptions. In subsequent cases, we indicated that the nonmember status of the person being regulated determined Montana's
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