• FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) -- Three American Indian tribes in the West soon will have the power to prosecute non-Indians for a limited set of crimes, becoming the first group of native communities to get such authority since a 1978 U.S. Supreme Court ruling forbade it.
• The ruling stripped tribes of any criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians on their reservations. But last year's reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act allows tribes to bring cases against non-Indians for domestic violence crimes and violations of protection orders.
• U.S. Department of Justice officials announced Thursday that the Pascua Yaqui Tribe in Arizona, the Tulalip Tribes of Washington and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon have met requirements to implement provisions of the law starting Feb. 20 under a pilot project.
• Other tribes can implement the law starting in March 2015.
• The changes to tribal jurisdiction resulted from the high rate of domestic violence on reservations, and from an effort to give tribes more authority over crime, according to the Justice Department. American Indian women suffer from domestic violence at rates more than double national averages.
• Jurisdiction on reservations is split among tribes, states and the federal government, depending on the crime and the race of the person involved.
• Tribes have civil jurisdiction over non-Indians but often are reluctant to go forward with a case when the penalty amounts to a fine and offenders have little incentive to pay.
• Federal authorities have jurisdiction over major crimes like homicide and assault resulting in serious bodily injury when the victim, suspect, or both, is American Indian. But not all domestic violence on reservations rises to the level of a federal crime.
• "By showing people that, in fact, if a non-Indian commits these acts, we'll hold them accountable, it might encourage victims to come forward, speak out and seek help," said Brent Leonhard, an attorney in the Umatilla Office of Legal Counsel.
• To become part of the pilot project, the three tribes had to amend their legal codes, create jury pools that include non-Indians and ensure defendants receive the same rights offered in state and federal courts. The Violence Against Women Act also allows defendants to petition a federal court for review of a tribal court decision.
• The three tribes will have jurisdiction over non-Indians who live or work on the

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