Federal Diversity Jurisdiction and American Indian Tribal Corporations

American Indian tribes often have multiple legal identities. First and foremost they are “domestic dependent nations” with their own constitutions and governing bodies. But many Indian tribes also have a number of separate corporate identities. There are three ways for an Indian tribe to form corporations that are distinct from the domestic dependent nation, or constitutional tribe. First, the tribe can follow the procedures for forming a corporation under state law, just like any non-Indian entity. Second, the tribe can receive a federal charter under § 17 of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. The corporate charter does not displace the tribe’s governing body. Rather the § 17 tribal corporation exists as a separate legal entity alongside the constitutional tribe, which is often organized under § 16 of the Indian Reorganization Act. Third, tribal governments can allow for the formation of corporations under tribal law. They can enact their own business codes that authorize the formation of corporations, or they can charter corporations directly through their legislative bodies. This Comment examines how federal courts determine the state citizenship of tribal corporations when deciding whether they can exercise diversity jurisdiction.