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Title 25 — IndiansRelease 119-73not60

§1918 Reassumption of Jurisdiction Over Child Cus­tody Proceedings

Title 25 › Chapter 21— INDIAN CHILD WELFARE › Subchapter I— CHILD CUSTODY PROCEEDINGS › § 1918

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

If a tribe was put under State jurisdiction by earlier federal laws, it can take back control of Indian child custody cases. To do that, the tribe must send a petition and a plan to the Secretary for approval. The Secretary will look at things like whether the tribe can identify its members, the land and people involved, and how the plan would work when more than one tribe lives in the same area. If full return of jurisdiction is not possible, the Secretary can allow a partial return so the tribe can handle certain referrals or control limited local areas under section 1911. If the Secretary approves, they will publish the approval in the Federal Register and tell the affected State(s). The tribe takes back jurisdiction 60 days after that notice. If the petition is denied, the Secretary must help the tribe fix the problems. Taking back jurisdiction does not change cases a court already has, except as allowed by agreements under section 1919.

Full Legal Text

Title 25, §1918

Indians — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Any Indian tribe which became subject to State jurisdiction pursuant to the provisions of the Act of August 15, 1953 (67 Stat. 588), as amended by title IV of the Act of April 11, 1968 (82 Stat. 73, 78), or pursuant to any other Federal law, may reassume jurisdiction over child custody proceedings. Before any Indian tribe may reassume jurisdiction over Indian child custody proceedings, such tribe shall present to the Secretary for approval a petition to reassume such jurisdiction which includes a suitable plan to exercise such jurisdiction.
(b)(1)In considering the petition and feasibility of the plan of a tribe under subsection (a), the Secretary may consider, among other things:
(i)whether or not the tribe maintains a membership roll or alternative provision for clearly identifying the persons who will be affected by the reassumption of jurisdiction by the tribe;
(ii)the size of the reservation or former reservation area which will be affected by retrocession and reassumption of jurisdiction by the tribe;
(iii)the population base of the tribe, or distribution of the population in homogeneous communities or geographic areas; and
(iv)the feasibility of the plan in cases of multitribal occupation of a single reservation or geographic area.
(2)In those cases where the Secretary determines that the jurisdictional provisions of section 1911(a) of this title are not feasible, he is authorized to accept partial retrocession which will enable tribes to exercise referral jurisdiction as provided in section 1911(b) of this title, or, where appropriate, will allow them to exercise exclusive jurisdiction as provided in section 1911(a) of this title over limited community or geographic areas without regard for the reservation status of the area affected.
(c)If the Secretary approves any petition under subsection (a), the Secretary shall publish notice of such approval in the Federal Register and shall notify the affected State or States of such approval. The Indian tribe concerned shall reassume jurisdiction sixty days after publication in the Federal Register of notice of approval. If the Secretary disapproves any petition under subsection (a), the Secretary shall provide such technical assistance as may be necessary to enable the tribe to correct any deficiency which the Secretary identified as a cause for disapproval.
(d)Assumption of jurisdiction under this section shall not affect any action or proceeding over which a court has already assumed jurisdiction, except as may be provided pursuant to any agreement under section 1919 of this title.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Act of August 15, 1953, referred to in subsec. (a), is act Aug. 15, 1953, ch. 505, 67 Stat. 588, which enacted section 1162 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure, section 1360 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure, and provisions set out as notes under section 1360 of Title 28. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

25 U.S.C. § 1918

Title 25 — Indians

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60