25 U.S.C. § 1901 : US Code - Section 1901: Congressional findings

Search 25 U.S.C. § 1901 : US Code - Section 1901: Congressional findings

Recognizing the special relationship between the United States
and the Indian tribes and their members and the Federal
responsibility to Indian people, the Congress finds -
(1) that clause 3, section 8, article I of the United States
Constitution provides that "The Congress shall have Power * * *
To regulate Commerce * * * with Indian tribes (!1)" and, through
this and other constitutional authority, Congress has plenary
power over Indian affairs;
(2) that Congress, through statutes, treaties, and the general
course of dealing with Indian tribes, has assumed the
responsibility for the protection and preservation of Indian
tribes and their resources;
(3) that there is no resource that is more vital to the
continued existence and integrity of Indian tribes than their
children and that the United States has a direct interest, as
trustee, in protecting Indian children who are members of or are
eligible for membership in an Indian tribe;
(4) that an alarmingly high percentage of Indian families are
broken up by the removal, often unwarranted, of their children
from them by nontribal public and private agencies and that an
alarmingly high percentage of such children are placed in non-
Indian foster and adoptive homes and institutions; and
(5) that the States, exercising their recognized jurisdiction
over Indian child custody proceedings through administrative and
judicial bodies, have often failed to recognize the essential
tribal relations of Indian people and the cultural and social
standards prevailing in Indian communities and families.