I lived on the Pine Ridge Reservation for a couple of years while teaching school there. I came to learn that it is like being in a separate country. ONLY federal law enforcement can enter and only for federal criminal cases. Local tribal police cut people a lot of slack if there is respectful behavior, and even if someone is dead drunk, they just put them in jail overnight to sober up, give them a sandwich and coffee in the morning, and let them go.

A great deal of emphasis is placed on which family you belong to. There are a half dozen powerful and influential families that people defer to in many situations. If I wanted to disappear off the grid I would get a set of fake ID on the street corner in south central Los Angeles, then pick one of the powerful families on the Rez and marry into it. It's a rough life there, with lots of problems, but an enterprising young person could figure out how to thrive.