Gila River Indian Community v. Department of Child Safety

CHIEF JUSTICE BALES,

opinion of the Court:

¶ 1 This case concerns the transfer of child custody proceedings from state to tribal court under 25 U.S.C. § 1911(b) of the Indian Child Welfare Act (“ICWA”). We hold that § 1911(b) addresses transfer only of foster care placement and termination-of-parental-rights actions. Although § 1911(b) does not apply to state preadoptive and adoptive placements, such as the proceeding involved here, it also does not prohibit the transfer of such actions to tribal court.

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¶ 2 A.D. is a member of the Gila River Indian Community (“Community”) and an Indian child…