Who has legal custody of an Indian child under tribal law, custom or state law. To whom temporary physical care, custody and control has been transferred by the parent of such child. An Indian tribe shall have jurisdiction exclusive as to any State over any child custody proceeding involving an Indian child who resides or is domiciled within the reservation of such tribe, except where such jurisdiction is otherwise vest in the State by existing Federal law. Where an Indian child is a ward of a tribal court, the Indian tribe shall retain exclusive jurisdiction, notwithstanding the residence or domicile of the child. All tribes in Wisconsin are subject to P.L. 280, except the Menominee Reservation.
Tribes can petition to reassume exclusive jurisdiction over Indian child custody proceedings.
The author of this outline only knows of one tribe which has completed the reassumption petition and had it approved by the Secretary of the Interior, and that is the Lac Courte Oreilles Tribe. The State Bar of Wisconsin presents the information on this web site as a service to our members and other Internet users. While the information on this site is about legal issues, it is not legal advice. Moreover, due to the rapidly changing nature of the law and our reliance on information provided by outside sources, we make no warranty or guarantee concerning the accuracy or reliability of the content at this site or at other sites to which we link.