A. Tribal Courts in the jurisdiction

There are five independent tribal courts within Idaho: (1) Coeur d’Alene; (2) Nez Perce; (3) Shoshone-Bannock; (4) Kootenai; and (5) Shoshone-Paiute.  See https://www.isc.idaho.gov/tribal-state/tribalcourt.  These courts have federally prescribed jurisdiction over custody and adoption cases involving tribal children, criminal jurisdiction over offenses committed on tribal lands by members of the tribe, and broader civil jurisdiction over claims between tribe members and nonmembers.  Each trial court has adopted its own Tribal Law and Order code.  Generally, most proceedings are open unless a tribal judge orders them closed.

In Kansas, tribal courts are maintained by the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas, the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, and the Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska.  The Prairie Band Potawatomie Nation has made its Law and Order Code available online, and it includes the following provisions:

Section 2-2-13. Records

(D) All Court records shall be public records except as otherwise provided by law.

Section 2-2-14. Files.

(A) Except as otherwise provided by law, Court files are generally open to the public. Any person may inspect the records of a case and obtain copies of documents contained therein during normal business hours.

Prairie Band Potawatomie Nation, Law and Order Code, https://www.narf.org/nill/codes/prairie_band_potawatomi/index.html.

According to the administrative office of the Prairie Band Potawatomie Nation’s Judicial Council, the tribal court proceedings generally are open.  Records and proceedings that may be closed include such matters as juvenile cases, children in need of care, adoption, and tribal enrollment or disenrollment, as well as domestic disputes at the request of a party.  Also, records of employment dispute may be closed.

According to judicial administrators for the other Kansas tribes, their courts also generally are open with exceptions like those of the Prairie Band Potawatomie Nation.

Judicial administrators may be contacted through main tribal offices as follows:

Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska
3345 B Thrasher
White Cloud, KS 66094
Phone: (785) 595-3258
Fax: (785) 595-6610
Web: http://iowatribeofkansasandnebraska.com

Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas
824 111^th
Horton, KS 66439
Toll Free: 1-877-864-2746
Phone: (785) 486-2131
Fax: (785) 486-2801
Web:  http://www.ktik-nsn.gov

Prairie Band Potawatomie
Government Center
16281 Q Road
Mayetta KS 66509-8970
Toll Free: (877) 715-6789
Phone - Tribal Court: (785) 966-2242  / Toll free: (866) 966-2242
Web: http://www.pbpindiantribe.com

Sac and Fox
305 N Main
Reserve, KS 66434
Phone: (785) 742-7471
Fax: (785) 742-3785
Web: http://www.sacandfoxks.com

There are no tribal courts in Pennsylvania.