Utah Supreme Court Dismisses Navajo Nation Appeal to Undo Adoption

The Utah Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by the Navajo Nation to undo the adoption of two Navajo siblings by a non-Native American couple due to the tribe's failure to file the appeal with the tribe’s signature on time, according to a piece published by the Salt Lake Tribune on Sept. 28.

The ruling, issued this week, marks the first time that the justices have held that neither the Indian Child Welfare Act nor the quasi-sovereign status of tribes trump state filing requirements, the article said.

Attorneys for the adoptive parents, Ricardo and Suzi Ramos, first argued the case on May 1, 2009.

“We think this is a very fair and just result, especially when taking into consideration the best interests of these two children,” Wes Hutchins, a Ramos’ attorney, told the Tribune.

The children, Ella and Anthony, both enrolled members of the Navajo Nation, were adopted by the couple in 2008, two years after they were brought into the family as foster children. The couple has said that they have kept the kids connected to their heritage.

Supreme Court Asks DOJ for Its Views on ICWA Case

The U.S. Supreme Court has asked the Department of Justice for the views of the federal government to help it decide whether to accept Hogan v. Kaltag Tribal Council, a case in which Alaska questions whether federally recognized tribes can resolve Indian Child Welfare Act cases, as reported by Indianz.com on April 26.

The case involves a mother who was convicted of murder and had a drinking problem. The father did not want anything to do with the child. The Kaltag tribe took custody, and the child was adopted, with the consent of all parties involved, by a Native family that lives in Huslia. But the state’s attorney general, contending that the state's court system takes precedence over a tribal court, wants to put a stop to it.

To learn more about the case, go to: www.narf.org/sct/caseindexes/current/hoganvkaltag.html

Parents Sent Back to Tribal Court in Grandparents’ Visitation Case

A Washington mother who wants to prevent grandparent visitation on the Quinault reservation was sent back to tribal court after seeking an injunction in federal district court.

The U.S. District Court in Tacoma ruled that the woman and her husband, who is the child’s adopted father, must exhaust all their remedies in tribal court before seeking relief in federal district court.

The child’s natural father, Jordan Mail, was a member of the Quinault Nation. He and the mother, Shila Eaton, never married. Mail died in a car accident. Eaton married and her husband adopted the child. Jordan Mail’s parents, sought visitation rights in the Quinault Court. The tribal court ruled that the grandparents were allowed to take the child from his mother’s custody every Saturday, without restrictions, for an unspecified duration of time.

The Eatons appealed the decision in federal court. The case is Shila and Jake Eaton v. Michael and Francine Mail (Case No. C08-5538FDB).

Arrest warrant issued for Mashantucket chairman in custody dispute

A family court in New York has ordered the arrest of Michael Thomas, the chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation of Connecticut, according to the Norwich Bulletin. The warrant was issued in a custody dispute between Thomas and Vanessa Hyman. Thomas and Hyman have a 4-year-old daughter together. Thomas says he was awarded custody through the tribal court system. But Hyman claims the girl is not Indian and not subject to the Indian Child Welfare Act.