Wisconsin Tribal Government & Courts

In Wisconsin, under WICWA, the tribe has exclusive jurisdiction over proceedings involving Native American children who live on tribal reservations. For children who do not live on reservations, the tribe has the choice of whether to move the proceeding to the tribal court.  For instance, if a child of the Ho-Chunk Nation lives in Milwaukee, the tribe may choose to have the case heard in its own court. If the tribe does not take jurisdiction, the tribe may send a tribal representative to all court proceedings on behalf of the child.  The tribe may choose to intervene at any time during the time a case is active.