Facing the Future: The Indian Child Welfare Act at 30(American Indian Studies)

The U.S. Congress is charged with responsibility for the protection and preservation of American Indian tribes, including Indian children. In 1978, Congress enacted the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), with the intent to "protect the best interests of Indian children and to promote the stability and security of Indian tribes and families." ICWA sets federal requirements that apply to state child custody proceedings involving an Indian child who is a member of or eligible for membership in a federally recognized tribe. ICWA also sets out federal requirements regarding removal of Indian children and their placement in foster or adoptive homes, and it allows the child's tribe to intervene in the case.
The history of the Act is a tangle of legal, social, and emotional complications. Some state courts have found unusual legal arguments to avoid applying the law, while some states have gone beyond the terms of the Act to provide greater protections for Indian people. This collection brings together for the first time a multidisciplinary assessment of the law—with scholars, practitioners, lawyers, and social workers all offering perspectives on the value and importance of the Indian Child Welfare Act.

Contents
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Indian Experience and Randall Kennedy’s Mythology
Working on the Front Lines: The Role of Social Work in Response to the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978
The Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 and Its Impact on Tribal Sovereignty and Governance
ICWA and the Commerce Clause
Reparations, Self-Determination, and the Seventh Generation.
A Practitioner’s View from Thirty Years on the Cutting Edge of the Indian Child Welfare Act
Differing Concepts of “Permanency”: The Adoption and Safe Families Act and the Indian Child Welfare Act
The Disconcerting Vicissitudes of State Judicial Power: Determining If Good Cause Exists to Deny Transfer in ICWA Cases
Keeping It in the Family: The Legal and Social Evolution of ICWA in State and Tribal Jurisprudence
Holding Back the Tide: The Existing Indian Family Doctrine and Its Continued Denial of the Right to Culture for Indigenous Children
A Decade of Lessons Learned: Advocacy, Education, and Practice
Where Have All the Children Gone? When Will They Ever Learn?
In Defense of ICWA: The Constitution, Public Policy, and Pragmatism
Contributors