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{{Short description|1978 U.S. federal law regulating tribal jurisdiction over court cases involving children}}
{{Use mdy dates|date = April 2019}}
{{Use American English|date = April 2019}}
{{Infobox U.S. legislation
| shorttitle = Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978
| othershorttitles = 
| longtitle = An Act to establish standards for the placement of Indian children in foster or adoptive homes, to prevent the break-up of Indian families, and for other purposes.
| colloquialacronym = ICWA
| nickname = 
| enacted by = 95th
| effective date = {{start date and age|1978|11|08|mf=y}}
| public law url = https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-92/pdf/STATUTE-92-Pg3069.pdf
| cite public law = 95-608
| cite statutes at large = {{usstat|92|3069}}
| acts amended = 
| acts repealed = 
| title amended = {{unbulleted list|[[Title 25 of the United States Code|25 U.S.C.: Indians]]|[[Title 43 of the United States Code|43 U.S.C.: Public Lands]]}}
| sections created = {{Usc-title-chap|25|21}} § 1901 et seq.
| sections amended = {{Usc-title-chap|43|33}} §§ 1602, 1606
| leghisturl = http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d095:SN01214:@@@R
| introducedin = Senate
| introducedbill = {{USBill|95|S.|1214}}
| introducedby = [[James Abourezk]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]]-[[South Dakota|SD]])
| introduceddate = April 1, 1977
| committees = [[United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs|Senate Indian Affairs]], [[United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources|House Interior and Insular Affairs]]
| passedbody1 = Senate
| passeddate1 = November 4, 1977
| passedvote1 = Passed
| passedbody2 = House
| passedas2 = <!-- used if the second body changes the name of the legislation -->
| passeddate2 = October 14, 1978
| passedvote2 = Passed, in lieu of {{USBill|95|H.R.|12533}}
| conferencedate = 
| passedbody3 = 
| passeddate3 = 
| passedvote3 = 
| agreedbody3 = Senate
| agreeddate3 = October 14, 1978
| agreedvote3 = Agreed
| agreedbody4 = <!-- used if agreedbody3 further amends legislation -->
| agreeddate4 = <!-- used if agreedbody3 further amends legislation -->
| agreedvote4 = <!-- used if agreedbody3 further amends legislation -->
| passedbody4 = 
| passeddate4 = 
| passedvote4 = 
| signedpresident = [[Jimmy Carter]]
| signeddate = November 8, 1978
| unsignedpresident = <!-- used when passed without presidential signing -->
| unsigneddate = <!-- used when passed without presidential signing -->
| vetoedpresident = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| vetoeddate = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| overriddenbody1 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| overriddendate1 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| overriddenvote1 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| overriddenbody2 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| overriddendate2 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| overriddenvote2 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| amendments = 
| SCOTUS cases = {{ubl|''[[Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield]]'', {{ussc|490|30|1989}}|''[[Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl]]'', {{ussc|570|637|2013}}|''[[Haaland v. Brackeen]]'', {{ussc|docket=21-376|volume=599|year=2023}}}}
}}

The '''Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978''' ('''ICWA''', enacted November 8, 1978 and codified at {{usc|25|1901|1963}}<ref name=ICWA>Indian Child Welfare Act, ({{USStatute|95|608|92|3069|1978|11|08}}, {{usc|25|1901|1963}})</ref>) is a [[United States Code|United States federal law]] that governs [[jurisdiction]] over the removal of [[Native Americans in the United States|American Indian]] children from their families in custody, foster care and adoption cases.

It gives [[Tribal sovereignty in the United States|tribal government]]s exclusive jurisdiction over children who reside on, or are domiciled on a [[Indian reservation|reservation]]. It gives concurrent, but presumptive jurisdiction over foster care placement proceedings for Native American children who do not live on the reservation.

==Overview of ICWA==

===General===
ICWA gives tribal governments a strong voice concerning [[child custody]] proceedings that involve Native children, by allocating tribes [[exclusive jurisdiction]] over the case when the child resides on, or is domiciled on, the reservation, or when the child is a [[Ward (law)|ward]] of the tribe; and [[concurrent jurisdiction|concurrent]], but presumptive, jurisdiction over non-reservation Native Americans' foster care placement proceedings.<ref name=ICWA1911>Indian Child Welfare Act, {{usc|25|1911}}</ref>

===History===
ICWA was enacted in 1978 because of the disproportionately high rate of forced removal of Native children from their traditional homes and essentially from Native American cultures as a whole.<ref name="Graham-1998">{{Cite journal|last=Graham |first=Lorie M. |year=1998 |title="The Past Never Vanishes": A Contextual Critique of the Existing Indian Family Doctrine |journal=American Indian Law Review |volume=23 |issue=1 |pages=1–54 |doi=10.2307/20068871 |jstor=20068871 |s2cid=155133545 |url=https://digitalcommons.law.ou.edu/ailr/vol23/iss1/2 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Glaser |first=Gabrielle |date=2023-05-16 |title=The Brutal Past and Uncertain Future of Native Adoptions |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/16/nyregion/indian-child-welfare-act-supreme-court.html |access-date=2023-05-17 }}</ref> Before enactment, as many as 35 percent of all Native children were being removed, usually forcibly, mostly from intact Native American families with extended family networks, and placed in predominantly non-Native homes, which had no relation to Native American cultures.<ref name=JohnsonWSR>Johnson, Troy R. (1999), "The State and the American Indian: Who Gets the Indian Child?," 14 ''Wicazo Sa R.'' 197 (University of Minnesota Press)</ref><ref name=JonesABA>{{cite web |url=http://www.abanet.org/genpractice/magazine/1995/fall/indianchildwelfareact.html |title=The Indian Child Welfare Act: The need for a separate law |author=Jones, B.J. |year=1995 |work=General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Division |publisher=American Bar Association |access-date=April 13, 2010}}</ref> In some cases, the [[Bureau of Indian Affairs]] (BIA) paid the states to remove Native children and to place them with non-Native families and religious groups.<ref name=Lowe352>Lowe, p. 352</ref>

Testimony in the [[United States House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs|House Committee for Interior and Insular Affairs]] showed that, in some cases, the per capita rate of Native children in foster care was nearly 16 times higher than the rate for non-Natives.<ref name=HouseRpt>H. Rep. No. 95-608, 95th Cong., 2d. Sess. (1978), reprinted in 1978 U.S. Code Cong. & Ad. News 7530, 1978 CIS H443-53</ref>  The tribes said that such removal demonstrated lack of understanding by child welfare workers of the role of extended families in tribal culture, and threatened tribal survival by removing children at such a high rate. The process also damaged the emotional lives of many children, who lost touch with their people and culture, as adults testified who had been through the process. Congress recognized this, and stated that the interests of tribal stability were as important as the best interests of the child.<ref name=Josephy124>Josephy, p. 124</ref> One of the factors in this judgment was a recognition that, because of the differences in culture, what was in the best interest of a non-Native child was not necessarily what was in the best interest of a Native child. The latter traditionally have larger extended families and tribal relationships in their culture.<ref name=JonesTilden12>Jones, ''The Indian Child Welfare Act Handbook,'' p.12-13.</ref>

As Louis La Rose ([[Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska]]) testified:
<blockquote>I think the cruelest trick that the white man has ever done to Indian children is to take them into adoption court, erase all of their records and send them off to some nebulous family ... residing in a white community and he goes back to the reservation and he has absolutely no idea who his relatives are, and they effectively make him a non-person and I think ... they destroy him.<ref name=Wilkinson258>Wilkinson, p. 258-260</ref></blockquote>

Congress recognized that four primary factors contributed to the high rates of Native child removal by states. These were 
1) "a lack of [[cultural competence|culturally competent]] State child-welfare standards for assessing the fitness of Indian families; 
2) systematic due-process violations against both Indian children and their parents during child-custody procedures; 
3) economic incentives favoring removal of Indian children from their families and communities; and 
4) social conditions in Indian country".<ref>81 Fed. Reg. 38780 (June 14, 2016)_</ref>

Various other groups have also had stakes in these decisions. [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church) had an [[Indian Placement Program]] that removed Native children from their tribes and placed them into church members' homes. By the 1970s, approximately 5,000 Native children were living in Mormon homes.<ref name=Wilkinson258 />  The lack of knowledge about Native American culture by most social workers also contributed to the high removal rates.  Most social workers are conditioned by the "[[Best interests|best interest of the child]]", as outlined by ''Beyond the Best Interests of the Child (Second Edition),'' which advocates bonding with at least one adult as a parent figure.<ref name=Goldstein>Goldstein, p. 53</ref> This did not take into consideration the tribal culture of the extended tribal family, in which children could have close relationships with members of the extended family. The common Native American practices of having a child cared for by an extended relative was viewed as abandonment by allegedly well-intentioned, but arguably paternalistic, state social workers. But tribal members considered care by an extended family member to be normal behavior and a desirable way to ensure the child was cared for by family.<ref name=JonesTilden3>Jones, ''The Indian Child Welfare Act Handbook,'' p.3-7.</ref>

During congressional consideration, held at the request of Native American advocacy groups, opposition was raised by several states, the LDS Church, and several social welfare groups.  The bill was pushed through by Representative [[Morris Udall]] of [[Arizona]], who lobbied President [[Jimmy Carter]] to sign the bill.<ref name=Wilkinson258 /> It was strongly supported by Senator [[James Abourezk]] of South Dakota, who had authored the bill and previously contributed to founding the American Indian Policy Review Commission and the [[Select Committee on Indian Affairs]], each of which he chaired.<ref name="abourezk">[http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2015/07/08/war-words-icwa-faces-multiple-assaults-adoption-industry-160993 Suzette Brewer, "War of Words: ICWA Faces Multiple Assaults From Adoption Industry"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160601005408/http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2015/07/08/war-words-icwa-faces-multiple-assaults-adoption-industry-160993 |date=June 1, 2016 }}, ''[[Indian Country Today]]'', 8 July 2015; accessed 9 June 2016</ref>

Congress's overriding purpose in passing the ICWA was to protect Native culture and tribal integrity from the unnecessary removal of Native children by state and federal agencies.  Awareness of the issues facing Native American children was raised by the advocacy and research by the [[Association on American Indian Affairs]].  Congress reasoned that "there is no resource that is more vital to the continued existence and integrity of Indian tribes than their children."<ref name=ICWA1902>Indian Child Welfare Act, {{usc|25|1902}}</ref>

====Legal challenge====
In October 2018, in the case ''Brackeen v. Zinke'', Federal District Court Judge [[Reed Charles O'Connor|Reed O'Connor]] struck down parts of the law as unconstitutional, claiming that it mandated racial preference.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/federal_court_declares_indian_child_welfare_act_unconstitutional|title=Federal court in Texas declares Indian Child Welfare Act unconstitutional|first=Lorelei|last=Laird|date=October 10, 2018|work=[[ABA Journal]]}}</ref> In December 2018, the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit]] ordered that O'Connor's judgment be stayed,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://turtletalk.files.wordpress.com/2018/12/ordergrantingstaypendingappeal.pdf|title=5th Cir. case No. 18-11479 Document: 00514745522}}</ref> holding that it violated [[Tribal sovereignty in the United States|tribal sovereignty]]. On August 9, 2019, the court ruled that the law does not violate [[Equal Protection Clause|equal protection]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=No. 18-11479 three panel|url=http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/18/18-11479-CV0.pdf}}</ref> On November 7, 2019, the court voted to rehear the case [[en banc]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=No. 18-11479 rehear en banc|url=http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/18/18-11479-CV1.pdf}}</ref> The ICWA remained in effect.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://splinternews.com/the-feds-are-helping-tribes-in-a-fight-for-sovereignty-1830834482|title=The Feds Are Helping Tribes in a Fight for Sovereignty and Native Children}}</ref> In 2022 the case was heard by the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]], who upheld the constitutionality of the law in June 2023 (see ''[[Haaland v. Brackeen]]'').<ref>{{cite news |last1=Marimow |first1=Ann E. |last2=Barnes |first2=Robert |date=June 15, 2023 |title=Native adoptions can give priority to tribal families, Supreme Court rules |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/06/15/supreme-court-icwa-native-adoption/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=June 17, 2023 }}</ref>

===Jurisdiction===

====Minimum standards====
ICWA sets minimum Federal standards for nearly all Native child custody proceedings, including adoption, voluntary and involuntary termination of parental rights, and removal and foster care placement of Native children, but excluding divorce and child delinquency proceedings. ICWA provides that state courts have no jurisdiction over the adoption or custody of Native children residing within their own tribal reservation.<ref>Canby, p. 196</ref> An "Indian child" is "any unmarried person who is under age eighteen and is either (a) a member of an Indian tribe or (b) is eligible for membership in an Indian tribe and is the biological child of a member of an Indian tribe."<ref name=ICWA1903>Indian Child Welfare Act, {{usc|25|1903}}</ref>

ICWA applies to a "child custody proceeding"<ref name=ICWA1903 /> involving a Native child.  The term "child custody proceeding" involves: (i) "foster care placements", where the child has been placed in a foster home, and the parent cannot have the child returned upon demand, but where parental rights have not been terminated; (2) terminations of parental rights; (3) "preadoptive placements", which means placing the child in a foster home after the termination of parental rights, but before or instead of an adoption; and (4) adoptions.<ref name=ICWA1903 />

ICWA does not cover child custody hearings during divorce proceedings. Nor does ICWA cover cases of child delinquency when the child has done something that would be considered a crime if done by an adult. Because Native tribes play a major part in the upbringing of Native children, which is significantly different than that of the parents, the ICWA gives important jurisdictional powers to Native tribes in order to preserve the Native culture and tribal future. Tribal courts hold either [[exclusive jurisdiction]] or [[concurrent jurisdiction]] dependent on several factors.<ref name=ICWA1911 />

====Exclusive tribal jurisdiction====
Under ICWA, a Native tribe has exclusive jurisdiction over a Native child who resides or is domiciled within the tribe's land. This includes both reservation land, other tribal lands that are held in trust by the Federal government for the benefit of a tribe or individual, or held by a tribe or individual subject to a restriction by the United States against alienation.  The last two describe tribal lands such as those in [[Oklahoma]] that were transferred to individual Natives under various laws. The Native tribal courts also have exclusive jurisdiction over Native children who are wards of the court or tribe, regardless of their location.<ref name=ICWA1903 />

The first [[United States Supreme Court|Supreme Court]] case dealing with ICWA was the 1989 case  ''[[Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield]]'' [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=case&court=us&vol=490&page=30 (490 U.S. 30, 109 S.Ct. 1597)]. This Court ruled that the ICWA gives the tribal court [[exclusive jurisdiction]] over a case in which the parent was domiciled on the reservation, no matter what the parent's personal desires are in the custody case.

====Concurrent jurisdiction====
Concurrent jurisdiction is shared jurisdiction between the tribal courts and the state courts. State courts have been severely criticized for ignoring the requirements of the law.<ref>Robert J. McCarthy, "The Indian Child Welfare Act: In the Best Interests of the Child and Tribe," 27/8 ''CLEARINGHOUSE REVIEW'' 864 (December 1993).</ref> In all cases that the tribal court does not have exclusive jurisdiction, they have concurrent jurisdiction.  These cases would include custody proceedings involving Native children who do not reside or are not domiciled on the tribal lands (such as someone born off the reservation and whose parents do not live on the reservation). In these concurrent decisions, the ICWA expresses a preference for tribal jurisdiction in Native child custody proceedings.<ref name=ICWA1903 />

==Procedures==
[[File:Native American boy in Men's Northern Traditional outfit.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Maintaining tribal relationships]]

===Notification and rights===
In an involuntary proceeding, the party seeking the placement of the child,<ref name= 25CFR2311>25 CFR §23.11(a) (2016)</ref> which is often but not always the state, must notify both the parent(s) and/or Indian custodian(s) and the child's tribe at least 10 days prior to the proceeding. Emergency proceedings may follow state law, but proceedings after that are controlled by ICWA.  If the state cannot determine who the parent or the tribe is, then the state is required to notify the [[United States Secretary of the Interior|Secretary of the Interior]]. Notification must contain all the requisite information identified in 25 CFR § 23.111 and be sent by registered or certified mail with return receipt requested,<ref name= 25CFR2311 /> and the parties notified have the right to an additional 20 days to prepare prior to the proceeding.<ref name=ICWA1912>Indian Child Welfare Act, {{usc|25|1912}}</ref>  Failure to provide such notice can cause a jurisdictional defect that may result in any such proceeding to be overturned.<ref name=JonesTilden84>{{cite book| title= The Indian Child Welfare Act Handbook: A Legal Guide to the Custody and Adoption of Native American Children| first1= Billy Joe |last1= Jones| first2= Mark |last2= Tilden| first3= Kelly |last3= Gaines-Stoner| publisher= American Bar Association| year= 2008| edition= 2nd |pages= 84–88| isbn= 9781590318584}}</ref><ref name=NARF365>{{cite book| title= A Practical Guide to the Indian Child Welfare Act| publisher= Native American Rights Fund| year= 2007| pages= 36–41| isbn= 9780979409912}}</ref><ref name= Fort>{{cite journal |last1=Fort |first1=Kathryn |title=Beyond Minimum Standards: Federal Requirements and State Interpretations of the Indian Child Welfare Act |journal=Court Review |date=2009 |url=https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/ajacourtreview/281/ }}</ref>

The ICWA case may be dismissed for lack of due process if not for the lack of jurisdiction "because ' "failure to give proper notice of a dependency proceeding to a tribe with which the dependent child may be affiliated forecloses the participation by the tribe, [ICWA] notice requirements are strictly construed." ' ."<ref>In re Robert A., 147 Cal.App.4th 982, 989</ref>

"The determination of a child's Indian status is up to the tribe; therefore, the juvenile court needs only a suggestion of Indian ancestry to trigger the notice requirement."<ref>In re Nikki R. (2003) 106 Cal.App.4th 844, 848</ref>

{{blockquote|The circumstances under which a juvenile court has reason to believe that a child is an Indian child include, but are not limited to, the following: '(I) Any party to the case, Indian tribe, Indian organization or public or private agency informs the court that the child is an Indian child. (II) Any public or state-licensed agency involved in child protection services or family support has discovered information which suggests that the child is an Indian child. (III) The child who is the subject of the proceeding gives the court reason to believe he or she is an Indian child. (IV) The residence or domicile of the child, his or her biological parents, or the Indian custodian is known by the court to be or is shown to be a predominantly Indian community. (V) An officer of the court involved in the proceeding has knowledge that the child may be an Indian child.'|Guidelines for State Courts; Indian Child Custody Proceedings (44 Federal Register 67584, 67586 (Nov. 26, 1979) (Guidelines); [former] rule 1439(d)(2).) <ref>In re O.K., 106 Cal.App.4th 152, 156</ref>}}

The MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians, a tribe that is federally recognized by the U.S. Federal Government but is not recognized for services of the Bureau of Indian Affairs under 25 C.F.R 83 et al., is used for precedent for many cases whereby the following conditions apply:

In cases whereby the mother may not be a member of the tribe, however she is eligible, then before the provisions of ICWA apply, "the trial court must initially determine if a child is an Indian child within the meaning of ICWA."<ref name="ReferenceA">In the Interest of C.H. et al., 510 N.W.2d 119, 123 (S.D. 1993)</ref> This is because "a parent's current enrollment is not always dispositive of a child's membership in an Indian tribe".<ref name="ReferenceA"/> The finding in the case of the children involved was "In the matter of C.H. et al., 510 N.W.2d (S.D. 1993) that the MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians were held to be a Federally Recognized tribe for the purposes of ICWA.

The child may be provided an attorney, and the parents are entitled to one if they are indigent and cannot afford one.  If the state does not have provisions for providing indigent parents an attorney, the Secretary of the Interior is to pay the attorney expenses.

All of the parties have the right to examine all documents and reports related to the proceeding.<ref name=ICWA1912 />

In a removal case, the party seeking the removal (normally Child Protective Services or similar agency) is required to make active efforts to provide the parent or custodian with remedial and rehabilitative services designed to prevent the removal of the child from the Indian family.  The "active effort" requirement also applies even if the party seeking removal is a private party, as in a private party adoption.<ref name=ICWA1912 /><ref>{{cite court |litigants=In the Matter of N.B. |vol= 199 |reporter= P.3d |opinion=16 |pinpoint=31 |court=Colo. App. |date=2007 |url= |quote=Accordingly, we affirm the trial court's holding that stepmother's failure to show active efforts as required by 25 U.S.C. § 1912(d) precludes termination of mother's parental rights through this stepparent adoption.}}</ref>  The child may not be temporarily removed unless there is a likelihood of "serious emotional or physical damage" to the child if they remain in the home.<ref name=ICWA1916>Indian Child Welfare Act, {{usc|25|1916}}</ref>

===Intervention===
The tribe and parents or Indian custodian of the Indian child have an unqualified right to intervene in a case involving foster care placement or the termination of parental rights.  The intervention may be at any time, and not just at the beginning of the proceedings.<ref name=ICWA1912 /><ref name=JonesTilden88>Jones, The Indian Child Welfare Act Handbook, p.88-89.</ref><ref name=NARF46>A Practical Guide to the Indian Child Welfare Act, p. 46-49</ref>  This right does not apply to pre-adoption or adoption proceedings unless it also includes the termination of parental rights.<ref name=NARF46 />

===Transfer to tribal court===

====Motion to transfer====
In a foster care or termination of parental rights case where the tribe and the state exercise concurrent jurisdiction, the tribe, either biological parent, or the Indian custodian may move to transfer the case from the state court to the tribal court.
<ref name=ICWA1911 /><ref name=NARF56>A Practical Guide to the Indian Child Welfare Act, p. 56-63</ref>  The ICWA technically allows transfer to the tribal court at any time in the proceeding, but state courts vary on how they view transfer requests after state court proceedings are well into the adjudication process.  In some cases the state will look to the [[Adoption and Safe Families Act]] to deny such a transfer based on that law's time standards.<ref name=NARF56 /><ref name=JonesTilden65>Jones, The Indian Child Welfare Act Handbook, p.65-67.</ref>  After a motion for transfer has been made, there is a presumption that the tribal court will receive the case.

The state court is required to make the transfer unless one of three factors is present:<ref name=ICWA1911 /><ref name=NARF56 />

=====Objection to transfer=====
A biological parent, whether Indian or non-Indian, may object to and veto a proposed transfer of a case to tribal court.  A prospective parent, the Indian child, or another party may object, but may not veto a transfer, and those objections would be covered under the "good cause" provision.  In the event that a parent vetoes the transfer, the case will remain in state court.  This is most commonly seen when one of the parents is non-Indian.<ref name=ICWA1911 /><ref name=NARF56 /><ref name=JonesTilden65 />

====Declination by tribal court====
The tribal court may decline to accept the transfer of a case from a state court.<ref name=ICWA1911 /><ref name=NARF56 />  An example is when the parents move to transfer the case, but the tribe declines to accept jurisdiction due to a lack of funding for programs that would support the child and the parents at the tribal level but that are present at the state level.<ref>Cavanagh, Michael F. (2010), "American Indian Law: State Court Administrative Office – Court Improvement Program: Indian Child Welfare Act Forum: October 6, 2008," 89 Mich. Bar Journal 23 (State Bar of Michigan)</ref><ref>{{cite court |litigants=In re Interest of Bianca H. and Eternity H. |vol=2008 |reporter=Neb. App. LEXIS |opinion=240 |pinpoint= |court=Neb. App. |date=2008 |url= |quote=}}</ref>  Note that a tribal court may not be a traditional tribunal, but may be any other administrative body empowered by the tribe to act on child custody matters.<ref name=NARF67>''A Practical Guide to the Indian Child Welfare Act,'' pp. 67-72</ref>

==== Active remediation efforts ====
ICWA requires that active efforts be made with the existing family to rehabilitate the root cause of problems prior to removal of the child.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Implementing and defending the Indian Child Welfare Act through revised state requirements.|journal= Columbia Journal of Law and Social Problems|volume= 49|issue=4|pages= 501–549|last=Turner|first=C.M.|date=2016|id = {{ProQuest|1812610354}}}}</ref> Many tribes are focusing on intercession prior to crisis. By engaging at-risk families, and providing services, they may be able to heal the family, with a dramatic improvement in outcome for both the child and the family.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Child welfare in Indian country: A story of painful removals|journal=Health Affairs|volume=33|issue=12|pages= 2256–2259|last=Cross|first=T.L|date=2014|doi=10.1377/hlthaff.2014.1158|pmid=25489044|id = {{ProQuest|1635437017}}}}</ref> The tribes focus on remediation and rehabilitative services to protect the family, and offer unique services geared to tribal values, to help parents understand their roles as parents in the culture. Early intervention and support helps caregivers and families achieve better outcomes by addressing parenting skills, addictions, domestic violence, and housing instability.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=A collaborative and trauma-informed practice model for urban Indian child welfare|journal= Child Welfare|volume= 91|number=3|pages= 89–112|last1=Lucero|first1= N. M.|last2= Bussey|first2= M.|date=2012|pmid=23444791|id = {{ProQuest|1509394991}}}}</ref> Results in a study of intervention/support indicated 81% of cases preserved the existing family, or placed the child with extended family within the tribe. By working with ICWA and the tribes to create preventative services that are [[culturally sensitive]], states can dramatically change outcomes of families who come to their attention. Such services need not be limited to tribal members, but are also available to foster and adoptive families to help them connect with the child's cultural roots.

===Good cause===
A state court may decline to transfer a case for "good cause", but that term is not defined in the ICWA.  The BIA has issued an advisory set of guidelines for state courts to use in determining "good cause".<ref name=NARF56 /><ref name=BIAGuide>Guidelines for State Courts; Indian Child Custody Proceedings, {{USFR|44|67584}}</ref>  While these guidelines are not mandatory, many states have adopted them, and they include:
*No tribal court as defined by the ICWA,
*The proceeding was at an advanced stage when the transfer request was made, and the party asking for the transfer did not request the transfer promptly after receiving notice of the proceeding,<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Shageluk IRA Council v. Alaska |vol=2009 |reporter=Alas. LEXIS |opinion=25 |pinpoint= |court=Alas. |date=2009 |url= |quote=}}</ref>
*The Indian child is over the age of 12 and objects to the transfer,
*It would cause undue hardship on the parties and/or witnesses to travel to a tribal court,<ref>{{cite court |litigants=In re Adoption of S.S. & R.S. |vol=657 |reporter=N.E.2d |opinion=935 |pinpoint= |court=Ill. |date=1995 |url= |quote=}}</ref> or
*The parents of an Indian child over the age of 5 are not available, and the child has had little or no contact with the tribe.

The BIA has also set out factors that state courts may ''not'' consider when determining whether good cause exists. These are binding regulations, effective as of December 12, 2016.<ref>{{CodeFedReg|25|23|118}}.</ref><ref>{{USFR|81|38802}}</ref> The prohibited factors are:
*Whether the proceeding is at an advanced stage, if the Indian parent, custodian, or tribe did not receive notice of the proceeding until an advanced stage;
*Whether there have been prior proceedings involving the child in which transfer was not requested;
*Whether transfer could affect the placement of the child;
*The child's cultural connections with the tribe or its reservation; or
*Socioeconomic conditions or negative perceptions of tribal social services or judicial systems.

===Existing Indian family exception===

====History of the exception====
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:File-Indian Backword class child.jpg|thumb|right|360px|Indian Backwordclass child]] -->
In 1982, the [[Kansas Supreme Court]] held that the ICWA " was not to dictate that an illegitimate infant who has never been a member of an Indian home or culture, and probably never would be, should be removed from its primary cultural heritage and placed in an Indian environment over the express objections of its non-Indian mother."<ref name=SCOKBabyL>{{cite court |litigants=In re Baby Boy L. |vol=643 |reporter=P.2d |opinion=168 |pinpoint= |court=Kan. |date=1982 |url= |quote=}}</ref>  Under the facts of the case, the court stated that the ICWA did not apply unless the child was part of an "existing Indian family unit", but this language was not part of the act. The court denied the [[Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma]] the right to intervene in the case, stating that the ICWA did not apply. The court also held that even if the ICWA did apply, the trial court committed no [[harmless error|reversible error]] because the non-Indian mother would have objected to the transfer of the case to a tribal court and, thus, defeated the transfer.<ref name=SCOKBabyL />

This case was the basis for development of a body of jurisprudence around the "existing Indian family" exception to ICWA. In the years following the Kansas ''Baby Boy L.'' case, approximately half of the states adopted or expanded upon this "existing Indian family" exception, although such language was not part of the text of the ICWA.<ref name=NARF1>''A Practical Guide to the Indian Child Welfare Act,'' pp. 1-6</ref><ref name=Lewerenz>Lewerenz, Dan; McCoy, Padraic. (2010) "The End of "Existing Indian Family", Jurisprudence: Holyfield at 20, In the Matter of A.J.S., and the Last Gasps of a Dying Doctrine," 36 Wm.Mit.L.R. 684 (William Mitchell College of Law)</ref>

Subsequent to the Kansas ''Baby Boy L.'' case, in 1989, the [[United States Supreme Court]] heard ''[[Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield]].'' {{ussc|490|30|1989}}<ref name=SCOTUS>''[[Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield]]''{{ussc|490|30|1989}}</ref>  As in the ''Baby Boy L.'' case, both parents in ''Holyfield'' consented to the voluntary termination of their parental rights and adoption of their twin infants by a non-Indian family. The unmarried parents were each Choctaw who were enrolled in the tribe. Unlike the parents in ''Baby Boy L.'', the mother in this case lived on the reservation both before and after the birth of the children off-reservation. The Supreme Court found that the children were classified as "domiciled" on the reservation because their biological mother was domiciled there. It ruled that the exclusive jurisdiction of the tribal court under ICWA should have been invoked.  The case was remanded to the tribal court for a custody determination three years after the twins had been placed with non-Indian adoptive parents. Noting the potential disruption in the twins' lives, the Supreme Court said that any potential harm could have been avoided if the parents and state court had not wrongfully denied the tribe its rights under ICWA.<ref name=SCOTUS/>

While the Supreme Court did not consider the "existing Indian family" exception, some sources cite ''Holyfield'' as an implicit rejection of the exception.<ref name=NARF1 /><ref name=Lewerenz /><ref name=JonesTilden30>Jones, ''The Indian Child Welfare Act Handbook,'' p.30</ref>  Other sources have noted that the ''Holyfield'' case is relied upon as support for both sides of the debate over the "existing Indian family" exception:

<blockquote>Surprisingly, ''Holyfield'' has been relied upon by courts and parties both to support and reject the existing Indian family exception, which has been invoked in proceedings involving Indian children and families who are living off the reservation and who are, therefore, subject to state court jurisdiction concurrent with that of the tribal court.<ref>Davis, Toni Hahn (1993) "The Existing Indian Family Exception to the Indian Child Welfare Act," 69 N. Dak. L. Rev. 465 (University of North Dakota School of Law)</ref></blockquote>

As of 2010, [[Alabama]],<ref>{{cite court |litigants=S.A. v. E.J.P. |vol=571 |reporter=So.2d |opinion=1187 |pinpoint= |court=Ala. Civ. App. |date=1990 |url= |quote=}}</ref> [[Indiana]],<ref>{{cite court |litigants=In re Adoption of T.R.M. |vol=525 |reporter=N.E.2d |opinion=298 |pinpoint= |court=Ind. |date=1988 |url= |quote=}}</ref> [[Kentucky]],<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Rye v. Weasel |vol=934 |reporter=S.W.2d |opinion=257 |pinpoint= |court=Ky. |date=1996 |url= |quote=}}</ref> [[Louisiana]],<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Hampton v. J.A.L. |vol=658 |reporter=So.2d |opinion=331 |pinpoint= |court=La. Ct. App. |date=1995 |url= |quote=}}</ref> [[Missouri]],<ref>{{cite court |litigants=C.E.H. v. L.M.W. |vol=837 |reporter=S.W.2d |opinion=947 |pinpoint= |court=Mo. Ct. App. |date=1992 |url= |quote=}}</ref> and [[Tennessee]]<ref>{{cite court |litigants=In re Morgan |vol=1997 |reporter=Tenn. App. LEXIS |opinion=818 |pinpoint= |court=Tenn. Ct. App. |date=1997 |url= |quote=}}</ref> still use the "existing Indian family" exception. Alabama and Indiana have limited its application by further court decisions.<ref name=Lewerenz />  Nineteen states have rejected the doctrine, either by court decision or statute.

The Kansas Supreme Court expressly overturned the ''Baby L.'' decision in ''In re A.J.S.'', stating:
<blockquote>Given all of the foregoing, we hereby overrule Baby Boy L. (citation omitted), and abandon its existing Indian family doctrine. Indian heritage and the treatment of it has a unique history in United States law. A.J.S. has both Indian and non-Indian heritage, and courts are right to resist essentializing any ethnic or racial group. However, ICWA's overall design, including its "good cause" threshold in 25 U.S.C. 1915, ensures that all interests—those of both natural parents, the tribe, the child, and the prospective adoptive parents—are appropriately considered and safeguarded. ICWA applies to this state court child custody proceeding involving A.J.S., and the Cherokee Nation must be permitted to intervene.<ref>{{cite court |litigants=In re A.J.S. |vol=204 |reporter=P.3d |opinion=543 |pinpoint= |court=Kan. |date=2009 |url= |quote=}}</ref></blockquote>

In June 2016, the Department of Interior specifically rejected the "existing Indian family" exception.<ref>81 Fed. Reg. 38801-2 (June 14, 2016)</ref> The regulations reflect that courts that rejected the doctrine were correct to do so, and that "Congress did not intend to limit ICWA's applicability to those Tribal citizens actively involved in Indian culture."<ref>81 Fed. Reg. 38802 (June 14, 2016)</ref>

====Criticisms====
Some critics have complained that the existing Indian family exception requires the state court to determine what it means to be an Indian child or an Indian family, by applying tests to determine the "Indian-ness" of the child.  One such test involved evaluating if the child lived "in an 'actual Indian dwelling,' apparently thinking of a teepee, hogan, or pueblo."<ref name=Johnson398>Johnson, Kevin R., p. 398</ref>  Another work notes that "state courts have taken it upon themselves to determine individuals' relationship with their tribes by examining such contacts as subscription to a tribal newsletter."<ref name=Lemont125>Lemont, p. 125</ref>

In her 1997 testimony before the Joint Hearing of the [[House Resources Committee]] and the [[Senate Committee on Indian Affairs]], Assistant Secretary of the Interior [[Ada Deer]] ([[Menominee|Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin]]) stated:

<blockquote>... we want to express our grave concern that the objectives of the ICWA continue to be frustrated by State court created judicial exceptions to the ICWA. We are concerned that State court judges who have created the "existing Indian family exception" are delving into the sensitive and complicated areas of Indian cultural values, customs and practices which under existing law have been left exclusively to the judgment of Indian tribes ... We oppose any legislative recognition of the concept.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://indian.senate.gov/hearings/618_ada.htm |title=Statement of Ada E. Deer |access-date=April 4, 2010 |last=Deer |first=Ada E. |date=June 18, 1997 |work=Hearing, H.R. 1082/S. 569, to amend the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 |publisher=U.S. Congress |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090103132051/http://indian.senate.gov/hearings/618_ada.htm |archive-date=January 3, 2009 }}</ref></blockquote>

===Foster care placement and adoption===
"Foster care placement" is defined as "any action removing an Indian child from its parent or Indian custodian for temporary placement in a foster home or institution or the home of a guardian or conservator where the parent or Indian custodian cannot have the child returned upon demand, but where parental rights have not been terminated".<ref name=ICWA1903 /><ref name=NARF86>''A Practical Guide to the Indian Child Welfare Act,'' pp. 86-89</ref>

==Legal Challenges==

===''Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl'' (2013)===
The US Supreme Court issued a decision pertaining to the ICWA in the case ''[[Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl]]'', on June 25, 2013. In a 5-4 opinion delivered by Justice [[Samuel Alito]], the Supreme Court held that the heightened standard of deferring to tribal jurisdiction, required under § 1912(f) of ICWA does not apply when the parent in question never had physical or legal custody of the child. The Court ruled that Dusten Brown, a [[Cherokee]] man, "could not rely upon the language of a federal statute, the Indian Child Welfare Act, to protect himself against the termination of his parental rights over his daughter, Veronica, after another couple sought to adopt her."<ref name="cohen">{{cite news|title=What the Court's 'Baby Veronica' Ruling Means for Fathers and Native Americans|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/06/what-the-courts-baby-veronica-ruling-means-for-fathers-and-native-americans/277215/|publisher=The Atlantic|last=Cohen|first=Andrew|date=25 June 2013|access-date=5 August 2014}}</ref> The Court remanded the case to the South Carolina State Supreme Court, which had ruled that the father should be given custody under ICWA.

South Carolina was ordered to review the facts of the case under the new standard limiting the father's rights. The Court's majority decision did not address the fact that the girl's mother, who is not Native American, had attempted to hide the proposed adoption from the father, who sought custody as soon as he learned about it. The couple seeking to adopt the girl failed to notify the father for four months after filing papers to complete the action.<ref name="cohen"/> Brown sought to block the adoption and gain custody of his daughter, actions supported by the two South Carolina state courts that had reviewed the case. They ruled that his "waiver of his parental rights was invalid ... because the adoptive couple 'did not follow the clear procedural directives' of the federal law."<ref name="cohen1">{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/04/indian-affairs-adoption-and-race-the-baby-veronica-case-comes-to-washington/274758/|title=Indian Affairs, Adoption, and Race: The Baby Veronica Case Comes to Washington|last=Cohen|first=Andrew|work=The Atlantic|date=13 April 2013|access-date=25 September 2019}}</ref>

===''In re Alexandria P.''===
In 2017 the Supreme Court declined to intervene in settling jurisdiction in the case of a Choctaw girl who had been placed in foster care with a non-Indian family in California after her natural parents were unable to care for her, ending nearly six years of litigation. The couple tried to adopt the girl, in violation of state laws and the ICWA, although the state and courts had warned them that the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma had jurisdiction and that the goal of family reunification was paramount. The couple was represented by an attorney who has challenged tribal jurisdiction in other ICWA cases. The couple refused to release the girl in 2016, despite a court order, and the state had to remove her, to much publicity.<ref name="lexi"/>

The girl's father and other relatives had fought the adoption, and the state of California supported them and the tribe in placing the girl with Choctaw relatives. The girl was placed with relatives in Utah, who were raising two of her biological sisters.<ref name="lexi">[https://newsmaven.io/indiancountrytoday/archive/icwa-supreme-court-denies-hearing-in-lexi-case-hNFmY5MlrEGusgcclk-s7A/ "Supreme Court denies hearing Lexi case"], ''Indian Country Today'', January 13, 2017</ref>

===''Haaland v. Brackeen''===
''[[Haaland v. Brackeen]]'' was a [[Supreme Court of the United States]] case brought by the states of [[Texas]], [[Louisiana]], and [[Indiana]], and individual plaintiffs, that sought to declare the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) unconstitutional. In June 2016, a 10-month-old [[Navajo]] boy was placed with Chad and Jennifer Brackeen, a former civil engineer and an anesthesiologist, respectively, after his Navajo mother (who lived in Texas) was found to be using drugs.<ref>Shaw, {{Smallcaps|42 Cardozo L. Rev.}} at 2014; Onalee R. Chappeau, ''[https://scholarship.law.slu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1769&context=lj Trusting the Tribe: Understanding the Tensions of the Indian Child Welfare Act]'', {{Smallcaps|64 St. Louis U.L.J.}} 241, 265–66 (2020); Jan Hoffman, ''[https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/05/health/navajo-children-custody-fight.html Custody Fight Pits Texas Couple Against a Law Favoring Tribes]'', {{Smallcaps|N.Y. Times}}, June 5, 2019, at A1 (hereinafter Hoffman, ''Custody Fight''); Arnessa Garrett, ''[https://www.dallasnews.com/news/courts/2019/06/05/nyt-spotlights-white-fort-worth-couple-s-fight-to-adopt-native-american-child/ NYT spotlights white Fort Worth couple's fight to adopt Native American child]'', {{Smallcaps|Dallas Morning News}}, June 5, 2019, online (hereinafter Garrett, ''Spotlights''); Roxanna Asgarian, ''[https://www.vox.com/identities/2020/2/20/21131387/indian-child-welfare-act-court-case-foster-care How a white evangelical family could dismantle adoption protections for Native children]'', {{Smallcaps|Vox}} (Feb. 20, 2020, 7:30 A.M) (hereinafter Asgarian, ''Protections'').</ref> The father of the child is [[Cherokee Nation|Cherokee]]. In 2017 a Texas state court terminated the parental rights of both the biological parents.{{refn|Both the biological parents and the paternal grandmother supported the adoption by the Brackeens, but were opposed by the tribe.<ref name="ReferenceB">Chappeau, {{Smallcaps|64 St. Louis U.L.J.}} at 266.</ref>|group=fn}}<ref name="ReferenceB">Chappeau, {{Smallcaps|64 St. Louis U.L.J.}} at 266.</ref> Under the provisions of the ICWA, the Navajo Nation stepped in and sought to place the child with a Navajo family, but that failed and the Brackeens were allowed to adopt the child.<ref>Chappeau, {{Smallcaps|64 St. Louis U.L.J.}} at 266; Hoffman, ''Custody Fight''; Garrett, ''Spotlights''; Asgarian, ''Protections''; Nora Mabie, ''[https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/tribal-news/2022/02/28/united-states-supreme-court-hear-challenge-indian-child-welfare-act/64926683007/ US Supreme Court to hear Brackeen v. Haaland, a case challenging Indian Child Welfare Act]'', {{Smallcaps|Grand Rapid Tribune}} (Feb. 28, 2022, 2:02 p.m.) (last accessed Mar. 20, 2022) (hereinafter Mabie, ''Supreme Court'').</ref> The Brackeens later attempted to adopt the boy's sister in state court, but the girl's extended family also sought to take in the girl.<ref>Shaw, {{Smallcaps|42 Cardozo L. Rev.}} at 2014; Hoffman, ''Custody Fight''.</ref> The Brackeens then filed suit in federal court to overturn the ICWA on the grounds of racial discrimination.<ref>Shaw, {{Smallcaps|42 Cardozo L. Rev.}} at 2015; Hoffman, ''Custody Fight''; Asgarian, ''Protections''.</ref> This approach would "completely erase <nowiki>[...]</nowiki> tribal sovereignty" according to Lauren van Schilfgaarde, a [[tribal sovereignty]] advocate.{{refn|Lauren van Schilfgaarde ([[Cochiti Pueblo]]), is the director of the [[San Manuel Band of Mission Indians]] Tribal Legal Development Clinic at [[UCLA Law School]].<ref>Ella Creamer, ''[https://www.politico.com/newsletters/the-recast/2022/05/31/fight-over-american-indian-children-00036096 The fight over American Indian children]'', {{Smallcaps|Politico}} (May 31, 2022, 3:31 P.M) (hereinafter Creamer, ''Fight'').</ref>|group=fn}}<ref>Creamer, ''Fight''.</ref>

On November 7, 2019, the Fifth Circuit, at the request of one of the judges, ordered that the case be heard ''[[en banc]]''.{{refn|Instead of one of the parties requesting rehearing, any member of the court may request that the entire court rehear the appeal, and if a majority of the judges agree, the court will order a rehearing by the entire court.<ref>Fed. R. App. P. 35(a).</ref> One source indicates that the plaintiffs requested an ''en banc'' hearing.<ref>Shaw, {{Smallcaps|42 Cardozo L. Rev.}} at 2015.</ref>|group=fn}}<ref>''Brackeen v. Bernhardt'', 942 F.3d 287 (2019); Dempsey, {{Smallcaps|77 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. Online}} at 414; Lynch, ''Brackeen''.</ref> Once ordered, 486 Indian tribes, 59 American Indian organizations, and 26 states filed [[amicus briefs]] in support of the constitutionality of the ICWA.<ref>Shaw, {{Smallcaps|42 Cardozo L. Rev.}} at 2015; Mabie, ''Supreme Court''.</ref> On January 22, 2020, the Court heard oral arguments.<ref>Lynch, ''Brackeen''.</ref> On April 6, 2021, the court issued a ''[[per curiam]]'' opinion that summarized the primary opinions of Judge Dennis or Judge [[Kyle Duncan (judge)|Kyle Duncan]].<ref>''Brackeen v. Haaland'', 994 F.3d 249 (5th Cir. 2021) (hereafter cited as ''Brackeen III'').</ref> The court unanimously ruled that at least one party had standing to bring the suit,<ref>''Brackeen III'', 994 F.3d at 267.</ref> and a majority held that Congress had the authority to enact the ICWA.<ref>''Brackeen III'', 994 F.3d at 267-68; Adrianna Shannon, ''[https://www.natlawreview.com/article/indian-nations-law-update-april-2021 Indian Nations Law Update - April 2021]'', {{Smallcaps|105 Nat'l L. Rev. (Online)}} (last accessed Mar. 13, 2022); Debra Cassens Weiss, ''[https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/in-325-page-opinion-5th-circuit-splits-on-federal-provision-giving-tribes-preference-in-native-american-adoptions In 325-page opinion, en banc 5th Circuit splits on preference for tribes in Native American adoptions]'', {{Smallcaps|ABA J.}} (Online), Apr. 8, 2021 (last accessed Mar. 13, 2022).</ref>

Following the ''en banc'' decision of the Fifth Circuit Court, the United States, the State of Texas, the Cherokee Nation, and the Brackeens all petitioned the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] for a writ of ''[[certiorari]]''. On February 28, 2022, the Court granted all four petitions.{{refn|The other three cases were styled as ''Cherokee Nation, et al. v. Chad Everet Brackeen, et al.; The State of Texas v. Deb Haaland, Secretary of the Interior, et al.; and Chad Everet Brackeen, et al. v. Deb Haaland, Secretary of the Interior, et al.''|group=fn}}<ref>Mabie, ''Supreme Court''.</ref> The Supreme Court consolidated the other three cases into ''Deb Haaland, Secretary of the Interior, et al. v. Chad Everet Brackeen, et al.'', allotting one hour for oral argument. All four cases dealt with the same basic subject matter, but from the perspective of each individual [[Wiktionary:appellant|appellant]], and it is a more efficient use of the Court's time to hear them at the same time.{{According to whom|date=October 2023}}

Oral arguments for the case were heard on November 9, 2022. Many legal experts anticipated the Supreme Court would overturn or limit ICWA in response to this case.<ref>{{cite news|last=Brulliard|first=Karin|date=7 Nov 2022|title=In Arizona, Small Tribe Watches Warily as Supreme Court takes up Native adoption law|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/11/07/icwa-supreme-court-arizona/|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=7 Nov 2022}}</ref>

On June 15, 2023, in a 7–2 vote, the Supreme Court affirmed the Fifth Circuit Court's decision, upholding the ICWA in full. Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote the opinion for the Court, reaffirming the ICWA's consistency with Congress' authority per [[Article One of the United States Constitution|Article I of the U.S. Constitution]]. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented on grounds that the ICWA infringed state sovereignty.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pilkington |first1=Ed |title=US supreme court upholds protections for Native American children |url=https://www.theguardian.com/law/2023/jun/15/supreme-court-american-indian-child-welfare-act-civil-rights- |work=The Guardian |date=15 June 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Schonfeld |first=Zach |date=2023-06-15 |title=Supreme Court upholds adoption law aiming to keep Native American children with tribes |url=https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4051367-supreme-court-upholds-adoption-law-aiming-to-keep-native-american-children-with-tribes/ |access-date=2023-06-15 |website=The Hill |language=en-US}}</ref>

In the [[American University Law Review]]; Washington Vol. 72, Iss. 5, [[Kathryn Fort]] wrote "The Road to Brackeen: Defending ICWA 2013-2023 in 2015."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fort |first1=Kathryn |title=The Road to Brackeen: Defending ICWA 2013–2023 |journal=American University Law Review |volume=72 |issue=5 |date=2023 |pages=1631–1666 |id={{ProQuest|2851297072}} |ssrn=4505642 }}</ref> 

==Representation in popular culture==

[[Barbara Kingsolver]]'s  1993 novel ''[[Pigs in Heaven]]'' explores the aftermath of the adoption of a Cherokee child by a non-Native parent under emergency conditions. It also looks at related issues among the people of her tribe, the history of ICWA, and its effects through other characters. It also explores ICWA in terms of tribal jurisdiction over Native American children, and issues for potential adoptive parents.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Karbo |first1=Karen |title=And Baby Makes Two |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/98/10/18/specials/kingsolver-pigs1.html |work=The New York Times |date=27 June 1993 }}</ref>

==See also==

*[[Adoption and Safe Families Act]]
*[[Uniform Adoption Act]]
*[[Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction And Enforcement Act]]
*[[Association on American Indian Affairs]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=fn}}
{{Reflist|2}}

==References==
*{{cite book |title=American Indian Law in a Nutshell |last=Canby |first=William C. Jr. |year=2004 |publisher=West Publishing |location=Eagan, MN }}
*{{cite book |title=Beyond the Best Interests of the Child|last=Goldstein |first=Joseph |author2=Freud, Anna |author3=Solnit, Albert J. |year=1979 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |isbn=978-0-02-912200-6 |edition=Second }}
*{{cite book |title=Mixed Race America and the Law|last=Johnson |first=Kevin R. |year=2003 |publisher=New York University Press |location=New York }}
*{{cite book |title=The Indian Child Welfare Act Handbook: A Legal Guide to the Custody and Adoption of Native American Children |last=Jones |first=B.J. |author2=Tilden, Mark |author3=Gaines-Stoner, Kelly |year=1995 |publisher=American Bar Association |location=Chicago |edition=Second }}
*{{cite book |title=Red Power: the American Indians' Fight for Freedom |last=Josephy |first=Alvin M. |author2=Nagel, Joane |author3=Johnson, Troy R. |year=1999 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |location=Lincoln, NE |edition=Second }}
*{{cite book |title=American Indian Constitutional Reform and the Rebuilding of Native Nations |editor-last=Lemont |editor-first=Eric David |year=2006 |publisher=University of Texas Press |location=Austin }}
*{{cite book |title=Families Across Frontiers |last=Lowe |first=Nigel V. |author2=Douglas, Gillian |year=1996 |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Pub. |location=The Hague, The Netherlands |isbn=978-90-411-0239-3 }}
*{{cite book |title=A Practical Guide to the Indian Child Welfare Act |last=NARF Staff |year=2007 |publisher=Native American Rights Fund |location=Boulder, CO |isbn=978-0-9794099-1-2 |url=http://www.narf.org/icwa/index.htm |access-date=April 14, 2010}}
*{{cite book |title=Blood Struggle: The Rise of Modern Indian Nations |last=Wilkinson |first=Charles F. |year=2005 |publisher=W.W. Norton & Co. |location=New York }}

==Further reading==
* [https://radiolab.org/episodes/295210-adoptive-couple-v-baby-girl ''Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl''] (2013) podcast by [[Radiolab]]

==External links==
* [https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/25/chapter-21 As codified in 25 U.S.C. chapter 21] of the [[United States Code]] from the [[Legal Information Institute|LII]]
* [https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title25/chapter21&edition=prelim As codified in 25 U.S.C. chapter 21] of the [[United States Code]] from the [[United States House of Representatives|US House of Representatives]]
* [https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/COMPS-1402/uslm/COMPS-1402.xml Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978] ([https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/COMPS-1402/pdf/COMPS-1402.pdf PDF]/[https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/COMPS-1402/ details]) as amended in the [[United States Government Publishing Office|GPO]] [https://www.govinfo.gov/help/comps Statute Compilations collection]
* [https://lakotalaw.org/resources/icwa-guidebook-1 ICWA Guidebook] for parents in abuse and neglect cases from the [[Lakota People's Law Project]]
* [https://www.nicwa.org/child-welfare-resources/ Child welfare system resources] from the [[National Indian Child Welfare Association]]

{{Native American rights}}
{{adopt}}

[[Category:United States federal Native American legislation]]
[[Category:1978 in American law]]
[[Category:Indigenous rights in the United States]]
[[Category:Civil liberties in the United States]]
[[Category:United States federal child welfare legislation]]
[[Category:Child custody]]
[[Category:Foster care in the United States]]
[[Category:Civil rights and liberties legislation]]
[[Category:November 1978 events in the United States]]