Hawkin's adoption of her would have been final in October had the tribe not stepped in at the 11th hour. He believes that' s good cause to prevent transfer of jurisdiction, so on Jan. 10th, he's taking the issue to Federal Court in Billings. Unfortunately, in 1994, the Minnesota Supreme Court rejected a white couple's petition to adopt three Ojibwe sisters. The original purpose of ICWA was well-meaning. Historically, there was a lot of pain related to the forcible separation of children from traditional family homes on the reservation, just as there is pain when children are separated from any family, anywhere.
Children are always more comfortable in a familiar setting.
However, ICWA, as written, is based on assumptions. The first assumption is that values within the Indian culture are unique, and the culture of non-Indian relatives is of less value. The second assumption is that all families and individuals of Native American heritage think, feel and desire the same things, and any person with a small amount of heritage is automatically better off within the Indian community. Questions of jurisdiction have resulted in several Court interpretations that have made ICWA even more threatening to the rights and preferences of the individual. In 1989, in a case called Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield , the US Supreme Court declared that Congress had enacted ICWA to protect Native Americans, and thus tribal jurisdiction preempted both state authority and the wishes of parents.