25 U.S.C. § 1902
Section 1902 · Congressional declaration of policy
This is § 3 of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 485 court decisions — leading case Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield (1989)
Most recently applied in In re A.M. (September 2025)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 25 U.S.C. § 1912 · 25 U.S.C. § 1903 · 25 U.S.C. § 1901
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
The Congress hereby declares that it is the policy of this Nation to protect the best interests of Indian children and to promote the stability and security of Indian tribes and families by the establishment of minimum Federal standards for the removal of Indian children from their families and the placement of such children in foster or adoptive homes which will reflect the unique values of Indian culture, and by providing for assistance to Indian tribes in the operation of child and family service programs.