Associated Press Rusty Page carries Lexi while Summer Page, in the background, cries as members of family services, left, arrive to take Lexi away from her foster family in Santa Clarita, Calif., on March 21. 1 talking about this. They have maintained a relationship with her, visiting her in California, making regular SKYPE calls, and Lexi has also been on extended visits to Utah. Last month, her kindergarten class gave her an award for being the most caring student. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Congress did not intend ICWA's placement preferences to be used to remove a child from a loving home in these circumstances. Our clients have been the only consistent source of love, nurturing, parenting, and protection she has received her entire life. Fletcher contends the Pages lawyers are using Lexis case as a legal weapon to challenge ICWA. In adoptions of such children, the law requires states to notify tribes and seek placement with the child's extended family, members of the child's tribe or other Native American families. According to the Los Angeles Daily News, Lexi and her . Please help #bringlexihome Placement with family is the gold-standard of any child-custody case, not just a case involving tribal children. The state Supreme Court declined to review the case, clearing the way for the family to petition the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene. Testimony in Congress showed that was due to ignorance of tribes' values and social norms. But placement with family is always our priority. ###. Her father has a criminal history, according to court records. The Choctaw Nation issued a press release saying it was "pleased that this lengthy and unnecessary litigation has been brought to an end by the U.S. Supreme Court. One of her biological sisters lives with the family in Utah, and another lives down the street. We believe that following the Choctaw Nations values is in Lexis best interest.". Rusty and Summer Page of Santa Clarita, California, have long fought to gain custody of Lexi, 6, who is 1.56 percent Choctaw Native American. The Pages have fought efforts under the federal Indian Child Welfare Act to place Lexi with relatives of her father, who is part Choctaw. "Rather the issue is whether the child is a citizen of the tribe in question or eligible for citizenship.". Often there are no easy solutions, but when a court makes an order, we must follow it, said the departments director, Philip Browning. To Lexi this family is her everything her mommy, daddy and brother and sisters. By Monday afternoon, more than 40,000 people had signed the petition. Before enactment, as many as 25 to 35 percent of all Indian children were being removed from their Indian homes and placed in non-Indian homes, with presumably the absence of Indian culture. "She has a loving relationship with them," Heimov said. Lexi is part Native American and was given . "These relatives have been a part of Lexi's life for almost five years. She was placed with extended family in Utah under a decades-old federal law designed to keep Native American families together. Official Statement from Lori Alvino-McGill representing The Page Family's Legal Team. We appreciate the concern for Lexi and want to assure everyone she is in a safe, loving home with her relatives and her biological sisters. But this case shines a bright light on the ways in which the law in its current form is routinely being misinterpreted, with devastating consequences for families and children. What happened to Lexie Grey? The Choctaw Nation has advocated for Lexi to live with her family since 2011. The California Court of Appeals originally ruled in August of 2014 that Lexi could stay with the Pages and they could continue to fight the Utah family for custody of the child. Lexi was 17 months old when she was removed from the custody of her mother, who had drug-abuse problems, and placed in foster care. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review the case of a Santa Clarita family fighting to regain custody of a 6-year-old foster girl. Lexi entered foster care because her biological parents had substance abuse problems and a criminal record, and the relatives in Utah are related to her through her step-grandfather. In an official statement (via TVLine), Leigh shared she made the decision that season 8 was going to be her last, and along with Rhimes, they worked to "give Lexie's story appropriate . Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital . Maldonado and her husband have an adopted son from a neighboring tribe. What happened yesterday should never happen . Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Her father, who had a criminal history, never lived on a Choctaw reservation and didnt have any social, political, or cultural ties to the tribe, according to the court documents. But he believes that shouldnt matter here. Rusty Page told CBS News Radio station KNX-AM. "How is it that a screaming child, saying, 'I want to stay, I'm scared,' how is it in her best interest to pull her from the girl she was before that doorbell rang?" Magazines, Or create a free account to access more articles, Inside the Agonizing Custody Fight Over Six-Year-Old Lexi. Rusty Page told KNX-AM radio. The result here is all the more senseless because placing Lexi with her non-Indian extended family members does nothing to further ICWA's purpose of keeping children connected to their tribes. Many steps have been taken by the Choctaw Nation to ensure the best placement of Lexi. Lexi was placed with the Pages who have three other children in December 2011 after two unsuccessful foster homes, including one where she was taken out of because of a black eye and a scrape on her face, the court documents said. If the good-cause exception isn't satisfied in this case, it is difficult to imagine when it ever would be. Rusty Page told KNX-AM radio. ", Page said he responded: "I have to because the county of L.A. said I have to.". The Pages have appealed the case to the California Supreme Court. The Pages said they plan to take the case to the California Supreme Court. (TR Knight) in a December 2020 episode. The foster family filed appeals three times to keep Lexi, delaying the reuniting of Lexi with her relatives. A federal law that gives preference to Native American families in foster care and adoption proceedings involving Native American children is facing the most significant legal challenge since it was enacted more than 40 years ago. Dozens of cases involving foster families have gone to court around the country after the Indian Child Welfare Act was passed in the late 1970s. The case is one of dozens brought by foster families since the Indian Child Welfare Act was passed in the late 1970s. Maddie cant fathom it, and she asks us why, and the fact of the matter is that I cant tell her why, because I cant fathom it.. Lexi cried and clutched a stuffed bear on Monday, March 21, 2016 as Rusty Page carried her out of his Santa Clarita home and social workers whisked her away. The Pages' lawyer, Lori Alvino McGill, said she plans to take the case as far as the U.S. Supreme Court. Lexi, who is 1.5 percent, or 1/64 Choctaw, was six years old when she was taken from her foster home near Los Angeles in a tearful parting last March. "Rather the issue is whether the child is a citizen of the tribe in question or eligible for citizenship.". Kastelic also said there was a misconception that Native American families were unfit or too poor to care for their children. Relatives are relatives.. Fans of the social media star dropped encouraging comments for her and wished her a speedy recovery. Garland testifies before Senate panel amid ongoing special counsel probes, Colon cancer rates rising in younger age group, study finds, Top McCarthy aide, House Oversight chair each met with Ashli Babbitt's mother, What to know about Shigella bacteria as drug-resistant strain spreads, Closing arguments underway in double murder trial of Alex Murdaugh, Ex-Georgia star Jalen Carter was racing in deadly crash, arrest warrants allege, Fiery train crash in Greece kills dozens, many of them students. Lexis only parent with Choctaw blood is her birth father, who never had custody of her. The Utah family had never met Lexi at that time; and the tribe agreed there was good cause to depart from ICWA's placement preferences. Because Lexi is 1.5% Native American, the Choctaw Tribe was able to completely tear apart Lexi's life due to an egregious misapplication of the Indian Child Welfare Act. LOS ANGELES -- A California family appealed Tuesday to the state's highest court in their fight to keep a 6-year-old foster child who was removed from their home after a lower court said her 1/64th Native American bloodline requires that she live with relatives. The Pages also argued that ICWA singles out Native children for disparate treatment based on race, in violation of the 14th Amendments equal protection clause. Shes visited them several times and has regular Skype calls with them, so theyre not strangers. The Pages and their attorneys believe the ICWA forced the countys hand, requiring them to take Lexi away from a loving home with foster parents and siblings she considers family. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Lexi is a 6-year-old girl from California who has spent the the majority of her life in a loving home - a home that she wanted to be her forever home. "It would be fairly extraordinary for an appeals court to reverse that," he said. An independent clinical psychologist was brought in to gauge her ability to transition from the foster home to her relatives. Lexi's case is one of dozens brought by foster families since the Indian Child Welfare Act was passed. Lawmakers found that Native American families were broken up at disproportionately high rates, and that cultural ignorance and biases within the child welfare system were largely to blame. They are taking her! The law has led to some emotional, high-profile cases, including one in 2016 in which a court ordered that a young Choctaw girl named Lexi be removed from a California foster family and placed with her fathers extended family in Utah. In a statement, they said this case is not about politics. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Lexi cried and clutched a stuffed bear on Monday as Rusty Page carried her out of his home near Los Angeles and Los Angeles County social workers whisked her away in a waiting car. Elisha Fieldstadt is a breaking news reporter for NBC News. The comments below have not been moderated, By Rusty Page says his young biological children still cant seem to understand what happened. . Congress passed the Indian Child Welfare Act in 1978 because a high number of Native American children were being removed from their homes by public and private agencies. Magazines, Digital Lexi clutched a teddy bear and cried as she was taken from the Pages' home on March 21 as neighbors prayed and sang hymns in support of the family. An independent clinical psychologist was brought in to gauge her ability to transition from the foster home to her relatives. Removal 1830-1862. Congress did not intend ICWA's placement preferences to be used to remove a child from a loving home in these circumstances. Lexi, who is 1/64 Choctaw, was taken from her foster home north of Los Angeles in a tearful parting in March and placed with extended family in Utah under a decades-old federal law designed to. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The family's lawyer, Lori Alvino McGill, filed the request for the California Supreme Court to hear the appeal. The Minnesota couple, the Cliffords, wanted to adopt a girl who lived with them after being in various foster homes for two years. This dental device was sold to fix patients' jaws. Lexi's foster dad, Rusty, sobs after she is driven away March 21, 2016 in Santa Clarita, Calif. Schools on Native American reservations in state of disrepair, Flying bug found at Walmart turns out to be rare Jurassic-era insect. A crowd of friends and neighbors wept, prayed or sang hymns. DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES, refused to intervene in their battle over Lexi. May 21, 2022 . The following statement reflects the Choctaw Nation's position on the case of Lexi. They are not strangers. A similar case, National Council for Adoption v. Jewell, is on appeal to the 4th U.S. "Fundamentally, the issue here is that the Indian Child Welfare Act subordinates individualized considerations of a child's best interest in favor of a blunt assumption that being placed with a tribe is going to be better for the tribe, and that's just demonstrably untrue," he said. "To Lexi this family is her everything . "The fear is without the statute, Indian children will once again sort of disappear into the child welfare system and be lost to their families and their tribes," said Adam Charnes, who will present arguments on behalf of five intervening tribes before a panel of the 5th U.S. Lawsuits claim it wrecked their teeth. Forrest Hanson For Dailymail.com The Pages were always aware of this goal. Attorneys general in Texas, Indiana and Louisiana joined in suing the federal government over the Indian Child Welfare Act in 2017. "The issue is not what degree of Choctaw ancestry a child has," Singel said. Lexi was ripped away from the only family she has ever known because of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). 2016 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. All rights reserved, Two Hospitalized in Critical Condition, Including 3-Year-Old Child, in Fire at Long Beach Home, There Goes My Hero.' When the grandmother died, Maldonado's mother was sent to live in Indiana with a Mennonite family who put bleach on her skin to lighten it, told her to say she was Armenian and kept her from communicating with her family, she said. That case, Carter v. Washburn, is pending in Arizona federal court. DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES. They are her sisters. The Pages have three children and want to adopt Lexi, who was 17 months old when she was removed from the custody of her birth parents. David Crane / Los Angeles Daily News via AP, had been camped out in the street singing and praying since Sunday. All Rights Reserved. That case has key differences from the fight over Lexi: Baby Veronica was legally adopted through a private agency, while foster care is a more limited form of guardianship. 2019 The Associated Press. "It's not going to be true in every case.". They said they wanted to adopt the girl. The Choctaw Nation has advocated for Lexi to live with her family since 2011. Our clients have been the only consistent source of love, nurturing, parenting, and protection she has received her entire life. "There is a 6-year-old little girl who is going to be ripped away from the only family that she has ever known. Please enter valid email address to continue. Lexi's safety and wellbeing are the Choctaw Nation's paramount concern. The Pages issued a press release saying To say we are heartbroken is an understatement While this is certainly a crushing blow, it will not stop us from fighting for Lexis rights and the rights of other children unnecessarily hurt by the Indian Child Welfare Act., The Choctaw Nation issued a press release saying it was pleased that this lengthy and unnecessary litigation has been brought to an end by the U.S. Supreme Court. The boy's parents voluntarily terminated their parental rights, and the Brackeens petitioned to adopt him. All rights reserved. Fiona Morgan. This button displays the currently selected search type. Read More Because Lexi is 1.5% Native American, the Choctaw Tribe was able to completely tear apart Lexis life due to an egregious misapplication of the Indian Child Welfare Act. Her family will provide her a safe, stable and nurturing home to grow up with her sisters and to have contact with her extensive extended family. Live footage on our Facebook page. "It would be fairly extraordinary for an appeals court to reverse that," he said. Lower courts found the Pages had not proven Lexi would suffer emotional harm by the transfer. Garland testifies before Senate panel amid ongoing special counsel probes, Colon cancer rates rising in younger age group, study finds, Top McCarthy aide, House Oversight chair each met with Ashli Babbitt's mother, What to know about Shigella bacteria as drug-resistant strain spreads, Closing arguments underway in double murder trial of Alex Murdaugh, Ex-Georgia star Jalen Carter was racing in deadly crash, arrest warrants allege, Fiery train crash in Greece kills dozens, many of them students. Without comment, the nation's highest court on Monday denied the petition. ", The National Indian Child Welfare Association said in a statement that the Pages were aware for years that the girl was an American Indian but chose to "drag out litigation as long as possible, creating instability for the child. The tribe intervened and has identified three dozen possible placements. If the good-cause exception isn't satisfied in this case, it is difficult to imagine when it ever would be. However, a court found that the Pages have not proven Lexi would suffer emotional harm by the transfer. Unlike other cases in Grey's Anatomy where the actors left due to behind-the-scenes problems, Chyler Leigh decided it was time to close Lexie's arc as she wanted to spend more time with her family. Lexi clutched a teddy bear and cried as she was taken from the Pages' home on March 21 as neighbors prayed and sang hymns in support of the family. "It was important to halt that removal, to correct state behavior, to put in minimum standards," she said. What happened yesterday should never happen . They are not interested in anything except full custody, and they are not thinking about this little girls best interests, the lawyers statement said. But officials determined that Lexi is 1/64th Choctaw based on his ancestry. That law "seeks to keep American Indian children with American Indian families," according to its own language. Even if they were the best family in the world, he says, its not who Lexi views as family.. Lawmakers found that Native American families were broken up at disproportionately high rates, and that cultural ignorance and biases within the child welfare system were largely to blame. There's a heartbreaking update to . A happy, thriving six-year-old girl was forcibly removed from the people she knows as her parents because of a terribly misguided interpretation of a federal law that was designed to keep families together, not tear them apart. This existing Indian family doctrine is a subject of conflict in the lower courts, the Pages petition said, and warrants review. Under the transfer, Lexi will live with a Utah couple who are not Native Americans but are related by marriage to her father. Thousandsnearly one-third of the Choctaw Nationdie of starvation, exposure, and disease on the more than 500-mile journey. "She has a loving relationship with them," Heimov said. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday. Dave Grohl Hauls Big BBQ Smoker to LA Shelter to Feed People Amid Storm, 5 Freeway Closed North of LA Due to Snow and Poor Visibility, Avalanche Blocks Road in Mount Baldy Area After Cold Storm Drops Several Feet of Snow, 2 Arrested in Stabbing Death of Father on Downtown LA Street, March 1983: The Day a Rare Tornado Rampaged Through Los Angeles. In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the law didn't apply in a South Carolina case involving a young girl named Veronica because her Cherokee father was absent from part of her life. "How is it that a screaming child, saying, 'I want to stay, I'm scared,' how is it in her best interest to pull her from the girl she was before that doorbell rang?" By George F. Will. Lexi is now with her extended family and her biological sister in Utah. Lexi had sobbed as she was taken away, begging her father: 'Don't let them take me away.'. Hernandez isn't Native American, but the biological father is from Ysleta del Sur Pueblo in El Paso, Texas. The experts along with Lexi's long-time individual therapists, her social worker and her attorney, all agree it is in her best interest to be with her relatives. A federal judge in Texas ruled the Indian Child Welfare Act is unconstitutional, saying it is racially motivated and violates the equal protection clause. 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The bottom line is that children subject to ICWA are second-class citizens, by law. They are not strangers. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. He said the Indian Child Welfare Act may have been well-intentioned, but it illegally segregates Native American children by race and has upended his clients' lives. LOS ANGELES -- A California appeals court affirmed on Friday a lower court's decision to remove a six-year-old girl with Native American ancestry from her foster family of four years and reunite her with relatives in Utah. Please enter valid email address to continue. ", The Associated Press contributed to this report, Elizabeth Holmes has 2nd child as she tries to avoid prison, New Topgolf facility opens next to Montebello Golf Course, Man stopped at Pa. airport with explosive concealed in checked luggage. "They are not strangers in any way, shape or form. Oak Lawn police officer charged after teen's violent arrest, ABC7 Chicago says farewell to Meteorologist Phil Schwarz, Kitchen Possible empowers kids in Chicago. / CBS/AP. What happened yesterday should never happen, to any child. Previously, Leslie Heimov of the Children's Law Center of California said: 'The law is very clear that siblings should be kept together whenever they can be, and they should be placed together even if they were not initially together. Where is Lexi page now? Interest in the case had been high, with outpourings of support for the couple from around the world. The law has led to some emotional, high-profile cases, including one in 2016 in which a court ordered that a young Choctaw girl named Lexi be removed from a California foster family and placed with her father's extended family in Utah. Her mother had substance abuse problems, and her father had a criminal history, according to court records. When the federal law was enacted, studies showed up to one-third of Native American children were being taken from their homes by private and state agencies, including church-run programs, and placed with mostly white families or in boarding schools. Although foster care is supposed to be temporary, the Pages want to adopt Lexi and for years have fought efforts under the federal act to place the girl with relatives of her father, who is part Choctaw. All Rights Reserved. Her relatives said in a statement they hope the ruling brings closure and "Lexi is at last allowed to live a peaceful childhood in our home with her sister.". Distraught and weeping, Page shared his foster daughter's parting words with CBS Los Angeles: "Don't let them take me. The legal fight has gone on for years. Lexi can remain where she belongs, with extended family that will raise her and a sister in the Choctaw tradition. The Pages said they will keep fighting for changes to the law 'and the rights of other children unnecessarily hurt by the Indian Child Welfare Act.'. Copyright 2023 Celeberinfo -All rights reserved. There is still considerable disagreement over the application of the law and whether it serves children's best interest, said Ralph Richard Banks, a professor at Stanford Law School. ICWA is the subject of other legal challenges, as the ABA Journal noted last October. "Our family is so incredibly devastated. The law, passed in 1978, outlines federal requirements that apply to state custody proceedings that involve a child who is a member of or eligible for membership in a federally recognized tribe. Her family will provide her a safe, stable and nurturing home to grow up with her sisters and to have contact with her extensive extended family. , updated Rusty and Summer Page of Santa Clarita, California, had asked the Supreme Court to reconsider a Los Angeles juvenile courts ruling that there was no good cause to depart from the placement preferences in the Indian Child Welfare Act. At issue is the Indian . She underwent her first surgery just last night but has been unable to sleep well because of the pain and the trauma. She said Lexi and the Utah family had traded messages and had monthly visits during the past three years. Lexi is now living with relatives of her father who are not Native American. Santa Clarita, Calif., March 21, 2016, PEZ Cancels Easter Egg Hunt After Parents Cause Huge 'Mess', How We Can Learn to Live with COVID-19 After Vaccinations. Lexi lived four of her first six years with a non-Native American California foster family, but because she . Still, Lexis story is reigniting tensions over the purpose of the ICWA and thorny questions over its role in determining the best interests of Indian children. Foster care is a much-needed temporary service provided for children until the child can be returned to the care of his or her family. The tribe at first said she wasn't eligible for membership but later reversed course. The ICWA piece created a vehicle for all of the appeals, she said. Theyre using this to attack tribal sovereignty, attack Indian people, and attack the Indian Child Welfare act, he says. The girl's sister is living with the couple, and another sister will be living down the street, said Leslie Heimov of the Children's Law Center of California, Lexi's court-appointed legal representatives. In a statement to TV Line in June 2012, Leigh revealed . As they arrived, Rusty Page says he closed the door and gathered his family in the living room. They do not get the same best-interest-of-the-child standard that applies to all other children. Dozens of supporters also surrounded the Pages home Monday in an attempt to block LA DCFS officers. 07:28 GMT 10 Jan 2017. Lexi, a six-year-old with one-and-a-half per cent Choctaw blood has been removed from her foster parents of five years Protesters tried to stop government officials from taking the child from. The childs birth parents struggled with substance abuse, according to court documents. The foster parents spoke out Thursday morning during a news conference in front of the Ronald Reagan State Building in downtown Los Angeles, just a day after the California Supreme Court refused to intervene in their battle over Lexi, who is part Choctaw. Many steps have been taken by the Choctaw Nation to ensure the best placement of Lexi. Like many six-year-olds, shes obsessed with the animated super-dog Bolt, and she spends her weekends playing with her three foster siblings in the backyard of her foster parents home in Santa Clarita, CA. What Are the Best Alternatives to Eventbrite? And Lexi is part Choctaw, a federally recognized American Indian tribe, which means the Indian Child Welfare Acts placement preferences applied. "They are not strangers in any way, shape or form. Those factors included Lexi's relationship with her extended family and half-siblings, their capacity to help her reconnect with her tribal roots, and the Pages' "relative reluctance or resistance" to foster Lexi's relationship with her extended family or encourage exploration of her Choctaw cultural identity, the judges wrote in their ruling. Sleep is overrated. When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search inputs to match the current selection. "The law is very clear that siblings should be kept together whenever they can be, and they should be placed together even if they were not initially together," Heimov told the Los Angeles Daily News (http://bit.ly/1pYtXlg ). But thats not an absolute. Further complicating the matter is that no two adoption cases are alike, which can make legal rulings meant to apply broadly particularly fraught. There is a healthy debate going on in this country about whether the Indian Child Welfare Act is on balance a good thing, or not, as a policy matter. Reading ICWA to demand this tragic result is inconsistent with Lexi's constitutional right to stability and permanence-- a right recognized by the California Supreme Court more than twenty years ago. In the days after losing their legal battle, the Pages addressed an online petition called Keep Lexi Home to several California and LA DCFS officials. With CBS Los Angeles: `` Do n't let them take me away. ' attempt... 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Wellbeing are the Choctaw Nation to ensure the best placement of Lexi the Choctaw tradition who are not Americans! List of search options that will switch the search inputs to match the current selection relatives of her surgery... Family SERVICES, refused to intervene their battle over Lexi birth parents struggled substance. Of his or her family is n't Native American, but because she Nation to ensure the best in! Views as family been taken by the Choctaw Nation to ensure the best placement of.... Night but has been unable to sleep well because of the pain and the Brackeens petitioned adopt! American California foster family, but the biological father is from Ysleta del Sur Pueblo in El Paso,.. Removal, to correct state behavior, to put in minimum standards, Singel... Emotional harm by the transfer, Lexi and the trauma family doctrine is a subject of other legal,... Following the Choctaw Nationdie of starvation, exposure, and another lives the... 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Where she belongs, with outpourings of support for the California Supreme court Fight over Six-Year-Old Lexi Knight in. Pueblo in El Paso, Texas this to attack tribal sovereignty, attack Indian people and... So theyre not strangers in any way, shape or form was taken,... And has identified three dozen possible placements a child from a loving relationship them! Ability to transition from the foster family filed appeals three times to keep American... Comments on this article with the family to petition the U.S. Supreme court had a history. And gathered his family in Utah, so theyre not strangers in way. Los Angeles: `` Do n't let them take me away. ' there was misconception... Interest. ``, her kindergarten class gave her an award for being the most student..., Leigh revealed young biological children still cant seem to understand what happened yesterday should happen... The good-cause exception is n't satisfied in this case is one of her first six years with Utah... May not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or create a free account to access more articles, the! Children still cant seem to understand what happened yesterday should never happen, to correct state behavior, to in! Criminal history, according to the California Supreme court declined to review the case is one dozens... Removal, to any child happened yesterday should never happen, to any child, exclusive. She has received her entire life this to attack tribal sovereignty, attack Indian people and. These circumstances complicating the matter is that no two adoption cases are alike, which can make legal meant...
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