About "A Practical Guide to the Indian Child Welfare Act"

About the ICWA Guide Online

Updates:

6/2007 - Research for the original site was completed
4/2008 - cases and legislative history updated
11/2009 - cases through 8/1/09 were added
10/2010 - cases, state court rules and statutes and tribal code provisions updated and the news/update feature was added
9/2011 - cases, court rules, and statutes were updated; state resources were reviewed

Selection Policy and Process:

The authors (Native American Rights Fund (NARF) and certain members of the Advisory Group) have endeavored to provide access to important and relevant federal and state judicial opinions, laws, regulations and other legal and non-legal information available on the ICWA.

Most of the primary legal information (legal opinions, laws, regulations) selected for the Practical Guide was identified by performing research in the Westlaw legal databases. In a few instances, with permission from Westlaw, we provide copies of fully annotated cases and statutes, but most items do not include any copyrighted materials. We have excluded most unpublished/unreported cases. The major exceptions are cases from states that had no or very few reported decisions or when an author cited a case in the Frequently Asked Questions and Answers section. Other sources of information used to locate relevant information include ICWA guides, manuals and other print publications as well as suggestions from consultants and colleagues. During the research process, the NARF attorneys and staff used their judgment as to which legal documents should be included in the Practical Guide, and have included as many relevant primary legal sources as possible. However, the resources provided in this Practical Guide should not be considered an exhaustive list, should not be substituted for independent research and do not constitute legal advice.

For questions related to using this electronic publication contact:

National Indian Law Library
(303) 447-8760
nill@narf.org

To obtain a print copy of the Guide you may either download a PDF copy for research or educational use or purchase one for a nominal fee.

Do you need help with your ICWA case?
Use the Contacts web page to find legal assistance.

Use of the Guide:

Copyright: Links to the ICWA home page are welcome and appreciated, but do not download and publish a copy of the Guide on another website. A copy of the print guide can be downloaded and printed for personal, research, or educational purposes.