Tribe: Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians
Section 1.
Purpose
A. Purpose. The Child Protection Code shall be liberally interpreted and construed to fulfill
the following expressed purposes:
1. To provide for the welfare, care and protection of the children and families within the
jurisdiction of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians;
2. To preserve the unity of the family, preferably by separating the child from his or her
parents only when necessary;
3. To serve the cultural, spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical welfare of the child
and the interest of the Band in preventing the abuse, neglect and abandonment of
children;
4. To provide a continuum of services for children and their families from prevention to
residential treatment, with emphasis whenever possible on prevention, early
intervention and community-based alternatives;
5. To secure the rights of and ensure fairness to the children, parents, guardians,
custodians and other parties who come before the Tribal Court under the provisions
of this Code;
6. To preserve and strengthen the child’s cultural and ethnic identity whenever possible;
7. To recognize and employ the tribal customs and traditions of the Pokagon Band
regarding child-rearing; and
8. To provide procedures for intervention in state court proceedings regarding Indian
children and for transfer of jurisdiction over Indian children from state and other
tribal courts to the Pokagon Band Tribal Court.