Opinion ID: 2765521
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Indian Child Welfare Act and Jurisdiction

Text: ¶22 ICWA established “minimum Federal standards for the removal of Indian children from their families and the placement of such children in foster or adoptive homes.” 25 U.S.C. § 1902. Congress sought to achieve two goals with the passage of ICWA: (1) “protect the best interests of Indian children,” and (2) “promote the stability and security of Indian tribes and families.” 25 U.S.C. § 1902. ¶23 At the core of ICWA are its provisions concerning jurisdiction over Indian child custody proceedings. Miss. Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield, 109 S. Ct. 1597, 1601, 490 U.S. 30, 36, 104 L. Ed. 2d 29, 38 (1989). ICWA created a dual jurisdictional scheme for child custody proceedings involving Indian children. 25 U.S.C. § 1911. Section 1911(a) establishes exclusive jurisdiction within tribal courts for child custody proceedings involving an Indian child “who resides or is domiciled within the reservation.” In contrast, § 1911(b) creates presumptively tribal yet concurrent state jurisdiction over proceedings involving an Indian child who, as in this case, is “not domiciled or residing within the reservation of the Indian child’s tribe.” Section 1911(b) further provides that presumptive tribal court jurisdiction may be overcome upon a showing of “good cause to the contrary.”5 Good cause is not specifically defined within ICWA. 5 25 U.C.S. § 1911(b) provides in its entirety as follows: “Transfer of proceedings; declination by tribal court. In any State court proceeding for the foster care placement of, or termination of parental rights to, an Indian child not domiciled or residing within the reservation of the Indian child’s tribe, the court, in the absence of good cause to the contrary, shall transfer such proceeding to the jurisdiction of the tribe, absent objection by either parent, upon the petition of 11