Library @ Little Big Horn College

By Luella Brien

The Apsáalooke Nation is the first Tribe in the United States to adopt into law the Model Secured Transactions Act that was developed by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL). NCCUSL drafted the Uniform Commercial Code in the 1940s. In 2001, the Apsáalooke Nation approved a new constitution, designating four year terms for elected officers and an elected district legislature. The United States Government as defined by the United States Constitution has governmental relationships with international, tribal, and state entities. The tribal nations have a government-to-government relationship with the United States. The Apsáalooke Nation signed treaties with the U.S. Government in 1825, 1851, and 1868, defining its relationship with the United States, establishing its boundaries, and recognizing the Tribe’s rights as a sovereign government. The Crow Reservation was established by the Treaty of 1851. The tribal government, as a sovereign entity, maintains jurisdiction within the external boundaries of the reservation over all lands rights-of-way, waterways, watercourses and streams, as allowed or limited by Supreme Court case law.