REGIONAL— Multiple individuals in recent days have reported to the Timberjay that they have been issued traffic citations by an officer from the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs operating in the Lake Vermilion area. The Timberjay has learned that recent changes in the status of some property near the Y Store intersection, along with the recent arrival of a new and more aggressive BIA officer in the area, has led to increased ticketing for drivers.
In some cases, motorists have received citations for purported violations within the boundaries of the Vermilion Reservation, which includes a mile-and-a-half stretch of County Rd. 77, while at least one individual was ticketed well outside the reservation’s boundaries, ostensibly for failure to come to a complete stop at the intersection of County Rd. 77 and Hwy. 169.
Those reporting these incidents asked not to be named for fear of reprisal, but the Timberjay did review the citations from two of the individuals involved. None of those reporting the citations was Native American.
The authority of BIA officers has been the subject of several complicated court rulings over the years, but none of those rulings has suggested that BIA law enforcement has jurisdiction outside of “Indian Country,” which is typically defined as the formal boundaries of a federally recognized reservation or lands held in federal trust for tribes.
Outside of those boundaries, it is generally understood that BIA officers lack jurisdiction to take enforcement action. The formal boundaries of the Vermilion Reservation don’t extend south of Vermilion Reservation Road, but the recent conversion of several parcels of land between the Pike River dam and Hwy. 169 to trust status, appears to have extended the BIA’s authority to enforce traffic laws to a portion of Hwy. 169, about a half mile either side of the Y Store.
St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsay, in response to questions from the Timberjay, stated that the BIA has traditionally not exercised its authority to issue traffic citations on public roadways that cross through the reservation or trust lands in the county. “BIA officers have not issued tickets in that area previously and this is a new and legal practice,” Ramsay said, adding that his office has a “great working relationship with Bois Forte and BIA law enforcement.”
Undersheriff Jason Akerson confirmed that the arrival of a new BIA lieutenant, Joshua Cox, who was assigned to the area this past winter, has prompted a more aggressive push to issue civil citations, which assess a fine but do not enter the criminal process nor do they appear on one’s driving record.
The Timberjay sought to confirm this change with multiple phone calls and messages to the BIA regional office in Bloomington but received no response. The primary phone number to Justice Services within the BIA had been disconnected with no forwarding provided.
In response to questions, a Bois Forte tribal court official indicated they were preparing a statement, but it did not arrive prior to press time
BIA operates
independently of
tribal government
While BIA officers operate as de facto tribal police, they are generally not under the control of tribal government. “They’re the BIA. They have their own chain of command that they work through,” said Shane Drift, interim tribal chair for the Bois Forte Band.
Drift said the tribal council has established some speed limits within the reservation boundaries at times, but he acknowledged the council lacks that authority off the reservation. “The state and county have authority over that,” he said.
Questions raised
One of those ticketed acknowledges she was likely speeding along County Rd. 77, within that stretch of the road located within reservation boundaries, which runs from the Lake Vermilion Reservation Rd. to just south of the Penguins Snowmobile Club’s storage garage. And she said she plans to pay the $100 fine assessed in the follow-up summons sent to her late last week.
The driver ticketed at the Cty. Rd. 77- Hwy. 169 intersection also paid her fine. Both tickets were issued by Officer Cox, who reportedly began working in the area in January.
The situation highlights a reality that stems from questions of BIA jurisdiction that have been clarified in recent years by the courts. For years, the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1978 decision, Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe, had appeared to be the controlling case law on tribal jurisdiction over non-Indians. The high court had decided at the time that tribal law enforcement could not stop, arrest, or prosecute non-Indians, even for crimes that they might have committed on reservations.
That decision had led to numerous practical complications and was effectively overturned by the 2021 Supreme Court decision in United States v. Cooley, which determined that tribal authorities can stop and detain non-Indians based on probable cause suspicion of criminal violations, which could presumably include violations of traffic laws.
In part because of continued uncertainty, however, BIA officers have rarely issued traffic citations, but that now appears to have changed, at least in the Lake Vermilion area. That means drivers operating on state, county, or federal highways that pass through any of the three Bois Forte reservations, including Vermilion, Nett Lake, and Deer Lake, should be aware they are potentially subject to stop by BIA officers.