Maybe some of you could help me with a technical question
which I have been unable to resolve locally. I am in the
process of adopting my stepdaughter. She is eight years old
and I have been her stepfather for the past five years. Her
birth father (my wife's ex-husband, of course) has not made
any attempt to contact her nor to aid in her support since
she was six months old. Both my wife and daughter
(stepdaughter technically) are enrolled in the Cherokee
Nation of Oklahoma with blood quantums of 1/4 and 1/8,
respectively, with remaining ancestry European. My
stepdaughter's birth father is not enrolled, to the best of
our knowledge, however he may have an ancestor on the Dawes
Rolls; he is either all or mostly of European heritage. My
ancestry is entirely European.
Should I be concerned about the Indian Child Welfare Act
of 1978? Is it possible that this adoption could be
contested at some future date based upon the ICWA-78? I
have been told variously that the Act applies to all
enrolled members, only to those who are at least 3/4 Native
American or have at least one full-blood parent, and only to
those residing on "Indian lands." No one seems to know how
this applies to stepparent adoptions. Since both my wife
and daughter "look" Anglo, this issue has not really been
discussed, but it seems it may be of some importance and
should be resolved as soon as possible. Local family law
specialists in my area are unacquainted with the Act.
Thank you.
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