VAWA's reauthorization was the culmination of the administration's attempts to improve the safety of Native Americans and enhance the powers of tribal courts. In 2010, the signing of the Tribal Law and Order Act (TLOA) allowed tribal courts to sentence criminals for periods longer than a year. Prior to TLOA, tribal courts could only sentence offenders to a one-year prison sentence.

"A significant reason why the legislation is so momentous is this is the first time that Congress is acknowledging that tribes, in the exercise of their sovereign powers, can prosecute individuals who are not members of the tribe or, in fact, native people," tribal law expert Bruce Duthu said. He also noted that numerous reasons that could prevent a guilty verdict, such as unpreserved crime scenes and victim tampering, cause the U.S. government's high rate of declining to prosecute cases. Despite the law's weaknesses, it's still an important step likely grounded in Congress' realization that the federal government wasn't doing enough to stop the epidemic of violence against tribal women.

Currently, Native American tribes lack criminal jurisdiction over non-Natives because of the 1978 Supreme Court case decision in Oliphant vs. Suquamish Indian Tribe. Only the federal government can prosecute non-Natives for crimes committed. As a consequence, many violators go unpunished because federal law enforcement is too thinly spread. Further, since states have no power in the U.S. Constitution to intervene on behalf of tribes, tribes are left effectively defenseless. However, VAWA includes language that establishes rights for Native American tribes to use in prosecuting crimes committed by non-Natives.

Nonetheless, tribal courts will likely not hold their newfound power for very long. Since the Oliphant ruling, the Supreme Court has long held the notion that tribes do not have the authority to exercise criminal jurisdiction unless the offender is a native.

Representative Don Hastings, R-Wash., believes the provision will be held up in court challenges for years until the Supreme Court rules; at which point, Duthu believes the Supreme Court will likely overturn the provision, reverting to previous rulings on the issue of tribal authority.