Indian Child Welfare

The 30th anniversary of The Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 was recently marked. For more information about the ICWA, see the following:

Recent law journal articles online:

• Reparations, self-determination, and the seventh generation, by Lorie M. Graham. Harvard Human Rights Journal, Volume 21. Available at Harvard's web site: http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/hrj/iss21/47-104.pdf
  


• The voice of the Indian child: strengthening the Indian Child Welfare Act through children's participation, by Barbara Ann Atwood. Arizona Law Review, Volume 50. Available at the University of Arizona's web site: http://www.law.arizona.edu/journals/ALR/ALR2008/VOL501/Atwood--FINAL.pdf
  


• Civil procedure: narrowed lens, clearer focus: considering the use of de novo review in Indian child welfare proceedings - In re welfare of child of T.T.B.. , by Emily Bucher. William Mitchell Law Review, Volume 34, Number 4. Available at the William Mitchell College of Law's web site. http://www.wmitchell.edu/lawreview/Volume34/documents/7.Bucher.pdf

The Native American Rights Fund and the Library continue to update our Practical Guide to the Indian Child Welfare Act at http://www.narf.org/icwa. The Guide is intended to answer questions about the ICWA by people of all levels of familiarity with this important law, and to provide a comprehensive resource of information on the ICWA.

And the National Indian Child Welfare Association has recently posted materials about its upcoming conference: "Access to Prevention, Protection, and Treatment: A Matter of Fairness, Justice, and Action."

From http://www.nicwa.org/conference/:

"The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) serves as a promising practice for serving Indian children and families and its role in strengthening tribal communities. The intent of Congress under ICWA was to ''protect the best interests of Indian children and to promote the stability and security of Indian tribes and families'' (25 U.S.C. § 1902). Tribal communities are strengthening and sustaining their traditional methods of protecting and nurturing Indian children."