The recent case of an adopted American Indian child who was returned to her biological father has reached the courtroom of the nation’s highest judicial body. In it, a dispute that pits a father’s right as well as his heritage against the rights of adoptive parents who only wishes what they believe is the best interest of the child.

The law protecting the rights of aboriginal children and their adoptions are under the care of a federal act, the Indian Child Welfare Act, which was passed in 1978 to ensure that the heritage of American Indians are continued and protected from consequences of adopting and assimilating these children into non-Indian families.

It is difficult to measure such a case and one could only feel bad for the child caught in the middle. For the judges presiding, their decision will have a great impact in future decisions as well as possible federal laws covering the topic.

This act gives protection to a father who wants his daughter to grow within the confines of his racial and cultural heritage. But sympathy should also be directed towards the girl’s adoptive parents who have developed a deep bond with the child in hoped of providing a life believed to be better by our standards.

The adoptive parents have to prove to the courts that being with the child’s biological father is not beneficial to her. By law, in a case such as this, children are not to be taken from their Indian families unless if there is reasonable doubt that custody by an Indian parent will likely results in serious emotional or physical damage to the child.

Other underlying angles are also disputed. A court brief for the adoptive parents and for the guardians began to suggest that the ICWA might cause a racial preference which should be voided under the Equal Protection Clause. It was justified that the issue is more political than racial in nature to accommodate Indian tribes as a dependent nation and not a race.

It is difficult to measure such a case and one could only feel bad for the child caught in the middle. For the judges presiding, their decision will have a great impact in future decisions as well as possible federal laws covering the topic.


Keywords: father's rights, paternity case, Indian Child Welfare Act