§ 1903. — Definitions.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 25USC1903]
TITLE 25--INDIANS
CHAPTER 21--INDIAN CHILD WELFARE
Sec. 1903. Definitions
For the purposes of this chapter, except as may be specifically
provided otherwise, the term--
(1) ``child custody proceeding'' shall mean and include--
(i) ``foster care placement'' which shall mean any action
removing an Indian child from its parent or Indian custodian for
temporary placement in a foster home or institution or the home
of a guardian or conservator where the parent or Indian
custodian cannot have the child returned upon demand, but where
parental rights have not been terminated;
(ii) ``termination of parental rights'' which shall mean any
action resulting in the termination of the parent-child
relationship;
(iii) ``preadoptive placement'' which shall mean the
temporary placement of an Indian child in a foster home or
institution after the termination of parental rights, but prior
to or in lieu of adoptive placement; and
(iv) ``adoptive placement'' which shall mean the permanent
placement of an Indian child for adoption, including any action
resulting in a final decree of adoption.
Such term or terms shall not include a placement based upon an act
which, if committed by an adult, would be deemed a crime or upon an
award, in a divorce proceeding, of custody to one of the parents.
(2) ``extended family member'' shall be as defined by the law or
custom of the Indian child's tribe or, in the absence of such law or
custom, shall be a person who has reached the age of eighteen and
who is the Indian child's grandparent, aunt or uncle, brother or
sister, brother-in-law or sister-in-law, niece or nephew, first or
second cousin, or stepparent;
(3) ``Indian'' means any person who is a member of an Indian
tribe, or who is an Alaska Native and a member of a Regional
Corporation as defined in 1606 of title 43;
(4) ``Indian child'' means any unmarried person who is under age
eighteen and is either (a) a member of an Indian tribe or (b) is
eligible for membership in an Indian tribe and is the biological
child of a member of an Indian tribe;
(5) ``Indian child's tribe'' means (a) the Indian tribe in which
an Indian child is a member or eligible for membership or (b), in
the case of an Indian child who is a member of or eligible for
membership in more than one tribe, the Indian tribe with which the
Indian child has the more significant contacts;
(6) ``Indian custodian'' means any Indian person who has legal
custody of an Indian child under tribal law or custom or under State
law or to whom temporary physical care, custody, and control has
been transferred by the parent of such child;
(7) ``Indian organization'' means any group, association,
partnership, corporation, or other legal entity owned or controlled
by Indians, or a majority of whose members are Indians;
(8) ``Indian tribe'' means any Indian tribe, band, nation, or
other organized group or community of Indians recognized as eligible
for the services provided to Indians by the Secretary because of
their status as Indians, including any Alaska Native village as
defined in section 1602(c) of title 43;
(9) ``parent'' means any biological parent or parents of an
Indian child or any Indian person who has lawfully adopted an Indian
child, including adoptions under tribal law or custom. It does not
include the unwed father where paternity has not been acknowledged
or established;
(10) ``reservation'' means Indian country as defined in section
1151 of title 18 and any lands, not covered under such section,
title to which is either held by the United States in trust for the
benefit of any Indian tribe or individual or held by any Indian
tribe or individual subject to a restriction by the United States
against alienation;
(11) ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the Interior; and
(12) ``tribal court'' means a court with jurisdiction over child
custody proceedings and which is either a Court of Indian Offenses,
a court established and operated under the code or custom of an
Indian tribe, or any other administrative body of a tribe which is
vested with authority over child custody proceedings.
(Pub. L. 95-608, Sec. 4, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat. 3069.)
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 1727, 3202, 3653, 4302 of
this title; title 12 section 4702; title 26 section 168.
