The Arizona Court of Appeals today upheld the rights of the adoptive parents in a case involving a two-year-old American Indian child whose tribe tried to block the adoption.
The girl, known as A.D., was taken from a drug-addicted mother shortly after birth and placed in the custody of a non-Indian foster family. When the foster parents tried to adopt A.D., the Gila River Indian Community tried to block the adoption under the Indian Child Welfare Act.
“This decision comes as a great relief,” said Adi Dynar, the Goldwater Institute attorney who argued the case, in a prepared statement. “But it just highlights the problems with the Indian Child Welfare Act. This law creates a separate and unequal legal system for children of Native American ancestry.”
The Goldwater Institute has challenged the constitutionality of the ICWA in a federal civil rights case in Arizona federal court, and A.D. is one of the children in that case.
The issues with ICWA were also highlighted in the case of another child, Lexi Page, who was removed after living with her foster family for years and sent to live with a family in Utah.
Even though federal law forbids racial discrimination in all adoptions cases, Indian children are the exception.
“They’re the only people it’s legal to discriminate against on the basis of race,” said Dynar. “But it’s important to remember: all Indian children are citizens of the United States, entitled to constitutional protections.”
“We’re very grateful that the court has laid this case to rest and ensured that A.D. will have a bright future with a loving adoptive family,” Dynar said.