Revised Code of Washington

Wash. Rev. Code § 37.12.070 (2026)

Tribal ordinances, customs, not inconsistent with law applicable in civil causes

✓ current as of May 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section WA-LEGapp.leg.wa.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

Any tribal ordinance or custom heretofore or hereafter adopted by an Indian tribe, band, or community in the exercise of any authority which it may possess shall, if not inconsistent with any applicable civil law of the state, be given full force and effect in the determination of civil causes of action pursuant to this section.

[ 1957 c 240 s 7.]

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 3 cases, 1968–1995 · leading case: Tonasket v. State, 525 P.2d 744 (Wash. 1974).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Tonasket v. State, 525 P.2d 744 (Wash. 1974). · cites it 2× “Any tribal ordinance or custom heretofore or hereafter adopted by an Indian tribe, band, or community in the exercise of any authority which it may possess shall, if not inconsistent with any applicable civil law of the state, be given full force and effect in the determination…”

In Re Est. of Cross, 891 P.2d 26 (Wash. 1995). “” RCW 37.12.070. This statute mirrors the language of Public Law 280 ( 28 U.”

Makah Indian Tribe v. Clallam Cnty., 440 P.2d 442 (Wash. 1968). “RCW 37.12.070. The custom and usage that a Makah spouse controls all of the community property kept on the reservation is not necessarily incompatible with the civil laws of this state since the property on the reservation should quite logically fall under the control of one who…”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.