Nevada Supreme Court holds mother's custody wishes trumps Federal Law

A registered citizen of the Cherokee Nation, who did not live on the reservation, gave birth to a son. She then relinquished her parental rights to a licensed adoption and child placement agency two weeks after the birth, intending to place the child with an identified non-American Indian family. Under Federal law, a tribal court has exclusive jurisdiction over child custody matters, so it didn't take long for the Cherokee Nation to file suit asking to intervene in the case. The tribe sought to transfer the case to the tribal court and place the child with the maternal grandmother who was willing to be a foster parent. 

The Nevada Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, ruled that the wishes of the mother should be considered over a federal law that favors keeping Indian families together. In so doing, the Court recognized that the law was put in place to protect American Indian children, families and tribes “from unnecessary and unwarranted separation" but went on to find that Congress also intended to honor the desire of the parents of the child in adoption decisions. The Supreme Court said there was good cause for the district court to deviate from the adoption framework in the federal law.

You can read the article on lasvegassun.com

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