25 U.S.C. § 1921
Section 1921 · Higher State or Federal standard applicable to protect rights of parent or Indian custodian of Indian child
This is § 111 of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 72 court decisions — leading case In Re Interest of CW (1992)
Most recently applied in In the Matter of the Welfare of the Children of: L. K. and A. S., Parents (June 2024)
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.
In any case where State or Federal law applicable to a child custody proceeding under State or Federal law provides a higher standard of protection to the rights of the parent or Indian custodian of an Indian child than the rights provided under this subchapter, the State or Federal court shall apply the State or Federal standard.