§ 1916 TITLE 25—INDIANS Page 564

(i) a member of the Indian child’s extended

family;

(ii) a foster home licensed, approved, or specified by the Indian child’s tribe;

(iii) an Indian foster home licensed or approved by an authorized non-Indian licensing

authority; or

(iv) an institution for children approved by

an Indian tribe or operated by an Indian organization which has a program suitable to meet

the Indian child’s needs.

(c) Tribal resolution for different order of preference; personal preference considered; anonymity in application of preferences

In the case of a placement under subsection (a)

or (b) of this section, if the Indian child’s tribe

shall establish a different order of preference by

resolution, the agency or court effecting the

placement shall follow such order so long as the

placement is the least restrictive setting appropriate to the particular needs of the child, as

provided in subsection (b) of this section. Where

appropriate, the preference of the Indian child

or parent shall be considered: Provided, That

where a consenting parent evidences a desire for

anonymity, the court or agency shall give

weight to such desire in applying the preferences.

(d) Social and cultural standards applicable

The standards to be applied in meeting the

preference requirements of this section shall be

the prevailing social and cultural standards of

the Indian community in which the parent or

extended family resides or with which the parent or extended family members maintain social

and cultural ties.

(e) Record of placement; availability

A record of each such placement, under State

law, of an Indian child shall be maintained by

the State in which the placement was made, evidencing the efforts to comply with the order of

preference specified in this section. Such record

shall be made available at any time upon the request of the Secretary or the Indian child’s

tribe.

(Pub. L. 95–608, title I, §105, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat.

3073.)

§ 1916. Return of custody

(a) Petition; best interests of child

Notwithstanding State law to the contrary,

whenever a final decree of adoption of an Indian

child has been vacated or set aside or the adoptive parents voluntarily consent to the termination of their parental rights to the child, a biological parent or prior Indian custodian may

petition for return of custody and the court

shall grant such petition unless there is a showing, in a proceeding subject to the provisions of

section 1912 of this title, that such return of custody is not in the best interests of the child.

(b) Removal from foster care home; placement

procedure

Whenever an Indian child is removed from a

foster care home or institution for the purpose

of further foster care, preadoptive, or adoptive

placement, such placement shall be in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, except

in the case where an Indian child is being returned to the parent or Indian custodian from

whose custody the child was originally removed.

(Pub. L. 95–608, title I, §106, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat.

3073.)

§ 1917. Tribal affiliation information and other

information for protection of rights from

tribal relationship; application of subject of

adoptive placement; disclosure by court

Upon application by an Indian individual who

has reached the age of eighteen and who was the

subject of an adoptive placement, the court

which entered the final decree shall inform such

individual of the tribal affiliation, if any, of the

individual’s biological parents and provide such

other information as may be necessary to protect any rights flowing from the individual’s

tribal relationship.

(Pub. L. 95–608, title I, §107, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat.

3073.)

§ 1918. Reassumption of jurisdiction over child

custody proceedings

(a) Petition; suitable plan; approval by Secretary

Any Indian tribe which became subject to

State jurisdiction pursuant to the provisions of

the Act of August 15, 1953 (67 Stat. 588), as

amended by title IV of the Act of April 11, 1968

(82 Stat. 73, 78), or pursuant to any other Federal law, may reassume jurisdiction over child

custody proceedings. Before any Indian tribe

may reassume jurisdiction over Indian child custody proceedings, such tribe shall present to the

Secretary for approval a petition to reassume

such jurisdiction which includes a suitable plan

to exercise such jurisdiction.

(b) Criteria applicable to consideration by Secretary; partial retrocession

(1) In considering the petition and feasibility

of the plan of a tribe under subsection (a) of this

section, the Secretary may consider, among

other things:

(i) whether or not the tribe maintains a

membership roll or alternative provision for

clearly identifying the persons who will be affected by the reassumption of jurisdiction by

the tribe;

(ii) the size of the reservation or former reservation area which will be affected by retrocession and reassumption of jurisdiction by

the tribe;

(iii) the population base of the tribe, or distribution of the population in homogeneous

communities or geographic areas; and

(iv) the feasibility of the plan in cases of

multitribal occupation of a single reservation

or geographic area.

(2) In those cases where the Secretary determines that the jurisdictional provisions of section 1911(a) of this title are not feasible, he is

authorized to accept partial retrocession which

will enable tribes to exercise referral jurisdiction as provided in section 1911(b) of this title,

or, where appropriate, will allow them to exercise exclusive jurisdiction as provided in section

1911(a) of this title over limited community or