Are Indian reservations “sovereign” nations ?
The Indian Reservations are sovereign nations. For instance, if you wanted to have someone served with a civil action (i.e.: Child Support), you cannot serve that person if the reside on the rez, Of course, you can serve them at work, if they are employed off the rez. They have their own courts and laws. It is complicated.
Reservations have several sets of laws they must follow. First are the tribal laws. We also have to follow federal laws. State laws are followed when there is an MOU or MOA between the tribe and the state. The same would go for county or city laws. If there is not an MOU/MOA then the law does not apply on the reservation.