Alaska Tribes

Dedicated to providing Alaska's Native Tribes with resources and information regarding tribal courts and participation in state court ICWA proceedings

A project of Alaska Legal Services Corporation

State Court ICWA Cases

When a state court decides to remove tribal children from their family, place them  in foster care, or terminate their parents’ rights, the Tribe has a right to be a party to those cases and to advocate for the child’s best interests. The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) affords tribal children the right to be placed with family, whenever possible, and to retain their cultural identity. ICWA applies to state Child in Need of Aid (CINA) cases as well as to adoptions, guardianship, and petitions for custody by non-parents.

Adoptions, Guardianship, and Third-Party Custody Child in Need of Aid (CINA)

Alaskatribes.org has been prepared for general information purposes only. The information on Alaskatribes.org is not legal advice. Legal advice is dependent upon the specific circumstances of each situation. Also, the law may vary from state to state, so that some information on this web site may not be correct for your jurisdiction. Finally, the information contained on Alaskatribes.org is not guaranteed to be up to date. Therefore, the information contained in this web site cannot replace the advice of competent legal counsel licensed in your state.

This project was supported by Grant No. 2015-AL-BX-0001 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Office for Victims of Crime, and the SMART Office. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.