Washington v. Confederated Bands & Tribes of the Yakima Indian Nation

In this case we are called upon to resolve a dispute between the State of Washington and the Yakima Indian Nation over the validity of the State’s exercise of jurisdiction on the Yakima Reservation. In 1963 the Washington Legislature obligated the State to assume civil and criminal jurisdiction over Indians and Indian territory within the State, subject only to the condition that in all but eight subject-matter areas jurisdiction would not extend to Indians on trust or restricted lands without the request of the Indian tribe affected. Ch. 36, 1963 Wash. Laws.1 The Yakima Nation *466did not make…