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.

New California Law Provides for Tribal Customary Adoptions

On Oct. 11, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law a bill that provides for tribal customary adoptions.

Traditionally, the adoption of a Native American child requires the termination of parental rights of the biological parents. Many Native children end up being placed with non-Native families, which can be culturally detrimental to tribes and the adopted children.

“Customary Adoption” is defined as "a traditional tribal practice recognized by the community which gives a child a permanent parent-child relationship with someone other than the child's birth parent."

This bill (AB1325), sponsored by the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians and introduced by Assemblyman Paul Cook, R-Yucca Valley, requires the court and social workers “to consider and recommend tribal customary adoption, as defined, as an additional permanent placement option, without termination of parental rights, for a dependent child.”

The bill also provides “that a tribal customary adoption order would have the same force and effect as an order of adoption.”