The present system for the delivery of child welfare services to reservation Indians contains many issues of concern to responsible Federal and state government employees, and to Indians. The issues identified by the field research frequently center on questions of the proper respective spheres of authority of the governmental units involved--Federal, state, local, and Indian. Perspective and an understanding of the present system can best be gained by an examination of the historical development of this nation's policy toward Indians. The current system is an outgrowth of the vigorously debated, and often contradictory, notions of the past defining the Indians' position in American society. Therefore, this report begins with a summary of the historical development of the legal status of tribal Indians in the United States. The report then examines: Indian tribal government, courts, and legal systems; the current structure of child welfare programs for reservation Indians from a legal perspective; the basic legal problems flowing from the overlay of a federally funded, state administered child welfare system on the three governmental units (Indian, state, and local) concerned; recent attempts at solutions of the problems; and the legal implications of selected alternatives to the present system. (Author)