and remand for the district court to dismiss his § 1303 petition without prejudice. I. BACKGROUND A. The Indian Civil Rights Act Federal courts have long recognized that Indian tribes possess a unique legal status. See, e.g., Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, 30 U.S. 1, 16-17, 5 Pet. 1, 8 L.Ed. 25 (1831); Poodry v. Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians, 85 F.3d 874, 880 (2d Cir.1996). “Indian tribes are distinct political entities retaining inherent powers to manage internal tribal matters.” Poodry, 85 F.3d at 880. Constitutional provisions that limit federal or state authority do not apply to Indian tribes because the tribes retain powers of self-government that predate the Constitution. See id. at 880-81; see also, e.g., Talton v. Mayes, 163 U.S. 376, 384, 16 S.Ct. 986, 41 L.Ed. 196 (1896) (<HOLDING>); Martinez v. S. Ute Tribe, 249 F.2d 915, 919
holding that in the situation of a possible dismissal of an indictment because of possible grand jury tampering  only where knowing perjury relating to a material matter has been presented to the grand jury should the trial judge dismiss an otherwise valid indictment holding that the fifth amendment did not apply to tribal government holding indictment may not be amended to change charge except by action of the grand jury because amendments can only go to form and not substance holding that the trial court erred in denying the defendants motion in arrest of judgment when the indictment lacked a material element and it was not apparent that the grand jury based the indictment on facts that satisfy this element of the crime and that the only permissible cure was to send the matter back to the grand jury holding that tribal courts are not subject to the fifth amendments requirement of indictment by grand jury