Sexual Harassment Law Finds Its Way Into Oklahoma Indian Country
Since the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson, Title VII has become a fixture in private workplaces across the nation. Amended over the years, Title VII became synonymous with workplace protection against sexual harassment in the wake of Professor Anita Hill’s allegations against then Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas in 1994. For the last quarter of a century and counting Title VII continues to be the primary mechanism by which sexual harassment and gender discrimination is identified and dealt with administratively through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and its state law counterpart agencies, and through private civil litigation brought in federal courts in all fifty states.
While Title VII remains ubiquitous in discussions about sexual harassment in the private workplace, historically speaking the same cannot be said for employers in Indian Country. That is primarily because tribes were not