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4 member. See 25 U. S. C. §1903(4). If the child resides on Indian tribal lands, then the Indian tribal court has jurisdiction. §1911(a). But, if the child resides within a State, ICWA requires state courts to transfer any proceedings to a tribal court, absent “good cause to the contrary,” upon petition by the child’s parent, custodian, or tribe. §1911(b).

Even when the state court retains the proceedings, ICWA replaces state law with a strict set of federal rules. For example, if the State fears that a child is suffering physical or sexual abuse, it must clear a set of hurdles before placing the child in foster care or terminating the parent’s rights. §§§ [sic]1912(a)–(e). If the parent wishes to voluntarily relinquish his or her rights and facilitate an adoption, the child’s tribe has a right to intervene “at any point” and to collaterally attack the court’s decree. §§1911(c), 1914. Moreover, it appears that tribes can enroll children unilaterally, without the parent’s consent. Accordingly, even if the biological parents, the child, the adoptive parents, and the court all agree on what is best for the child, the tribe can intervene at the eleventh hour, without any consent from the parents or child, and block the proceedings. In fact, that is exactly what happened here—the children were unilaterally designated as tribal members by tribes, which then sought to block adoptions that everyone else thought were best for the children involved. And, even though some of those adoptions have now been finalized, it appears that the tribes can collaterally attack them for an indefinite period of time. §1914.

Besides these procedural hurdles, ICWA dictates the preferences a court must adhere to when deciding where to place the child. In the typical case, the primary consideration would be the best interests of that child. E.g., Tex. Fam. Code Ann. §153.002 (West 2014); American Law Institute, Principles of the Law of Family Dissolution §2.02 (2002); Friederwitzer v. Friederwitzer, 55 N. Y. 2d 89, 92, 432 N. E. 2d 765, 767 (1982); Karner v. McMahon, 433 Pa.