October 8, 2007

Federal Recognition Resources

To research the federal recognition (aka federal acknowledgment) process for American Indian tribes at the National Indian Law Library, start at this web page: http://www.narf.org/nill/resources/recog.htm

A list of tribes recognized as of 2007 is linked, in addition to Bureau of Indian Affairs Acknowledgment Database showing the status of tribes. (last updated August, 2004)

The library has numerous materials on federal recognition. Go to the library's catalog (http://nillcat.narf.org) and type "federal recognition" in the subject field. A new book at the library on this process is Forgotten tribes : unrecognized Indians and the federal acknowledgment process / Mark Edwin Miller. Federal recognition documents for various tribes can be found, and numerous journal articles on the acknowledgment process.

Contact the library for more assistance.

October 5, 2007

A Practical Guide to the Indian Child Welfare Act


BOULDER, CO-NARF is proud to announce the publication of its new "Practical Guide to the Indian Child Welfare Act." The Guide, available both on the Internet and in print, is a powerful resource tool for tribal, state and federal entities involved in Indian child custody proceedings. Among the wealth of contents and resources is frequently asked questions with answers falling under 22 topics, including:

Application of the ICWA
Jurisdiction
Who has rights under the Act
Intervention
Role of Tribal Courts
Tribal State Agreements
Foster placement & removal
Resources

The Internet version, available at www.narf.org/icwa, also contains more than 1,000 full-text resources.

The ICWA Practical Guide Project was generously funded by the Administration for Native Americans, with supplemental funding by the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, and supported by NICWA as a key partner. NARF and an Advisory Board-made up of multi-disciplinary team consisting of members of tribal courts, tribal ICWA departments, state governments, Indian law practitioners, Native non-profit organizations, law firms and urban Indian centers-provided guidance on the comprehensive content of the guide. To order a copy of the Guide, print a free copy, or access the expanded Internet edition, please visit: www.narf.org/icwa.