Enrolled mother questions ICWA jurisdiction

 

September 4, 2007

Let me start off by saying I am Native, enrolled with a tribe. I am sorry I didn’t know about this site earlier I would have love to go before congress. I don’t have time to tell you my whole story but here’s a preview. Over 2 years ago I got a call from a Christian adoption agency to adopt a baby girl that is Navajo. After meeting the birth mom who had contacted the agency, she choose us. The tribe agreed to the adoption even though I am Cherokee. Then 14 months later the same birthmom ask the agency if we could about the baby she was pregnant with. We agreed, she wanted the siblings to stay together and so did we. We where going to finalize the adoption and the tribe stepped in and said no. We have been fighting with this tribe for almost a year. It is very expensive… The have lied in almost every document filed. They even went as far as saying that the children were not related. When the judge ask if they had the same birthmom they said yes, but since one was adopted they were not considered to be brother and sister. Then got mad at the judge and said they where taking my older child too. Sure enough we got a document in the mail stating they wanted our older child. Even though they agreed to the adoption and she is over 2 years old. Of couse they can’t take her, but the fact is that they don’t care about the children or the culture, just the money. I am working on doing something about this. I hope it works out.

UPDATE November 29, 2007

Thank you for your prayers. After almost a year of fighting it is finally over and we won. Navajo Nation finally agreed to the adoption. This is great news for us but is still a horrible situation for all the other children. It is an incredible hard thing to go through and without faith. I don’t think I would of made it out uncaved.

 


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