1.25.260 Customary Adoption

(a) Guiding Philosophy for Customary Adoption

(1) It is the fundamental belief of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians that its children are the sacred responsibility of the Tribe.

(2) One of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa’s basic inherent sovereign rights is the right to make decisions regarding the best interests of its children including who should provide for the care, custody and control of its children. This Section is intended to assure a safe, stable, nurturing, and permanent environment for the tribe’s children and to provide for the protection of our children, our people, and our way of life.

(3) The principles that shall guide decisions pursuant to this code are: protection of the child’s safety, well-being and welfare and their sense of belonging; preservation of the child’s identity as a tribal member and member of an extended family and clan; preservation of the culture, religion, language, values, clan system and relationships of the Tribe.

(4) As an exercise of its inherent sovereignty the Bad River Band has the authority and jurisdiction to formally delegate the authority of its Children’s Court to adjudicate its own customary practices regarding child rearing and child custody.

(b) Purpose of Customary Adoption

Section 1.25.260, Customary Adoption, shall be liberally interpreted and construed as an exercise of the inherent sovereign authority of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa to fulfill the following express purposes:

(1) To embody and promote the basic traditional values of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa regarding the protection and care of the tribe’s children. The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa believes that it is the responsibility of the tribe, the tribal communities and extended families to protect, care for, and nurture our children.

(2) To promote the belief of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa that children deserve a sense of permanency and belonging throughout their lives and at the same time they deserve to have knowledge about their unique cultural heritage including their tribal customs, history, language, religion, and values.

(3) To provide for the best interests of the tribe, tribal communities and the tribe's children.

(4) To afford judicial processes which allow for formal adjudications that address the issues of the rights, responsibilities, care, custody and control of minor children when the biological parents are unable or unwilling to provide a safe, stable, nurturing and permanent environment for their children by conferring jurisdiction upon the Bad River Children’s Court to hear and adjudicate such matters.

(1) Any adult may file a petition with the Clerk of Court seeking an order for the customary adoption of a minor child whose parents’ parental rights have been terminated or suspended. The petition shall contain the following information:

(A) The name, address, and telephone number of the child’s tribe;

(B) The name, address, and telephone number and age of the child to be adopted;

(D) The name, address, and telephone number of any other relatives who may have an interest in the care, custody and control of the minor child;

(E) The proposed name of the adoptee after the entry of the final order of customary adoption;

(F) A statement or a copy of the final order suspending or terminating the parental rights of the biological parent(s);

(G) A statement as to why a final order for customary adoption is in the best interests of the child and the best interest of the child’s tribe;

(H) A statement as to basis for the customary adoption supported by a home study, medical doctor, psychiatric doctor, child protection worker, family member and/or psychological reports or testimony;

(I) A statement that no similar action is pending in a tribal or state court having jurisdiction over the child.

(2) The petition shall be filed with the clerk of court, with copies served, by the petitioner, on the child welfare coordinator; appropriate family members, if any; caretaker, if any; and appropriate agencies of the Band which may have an interest in the proceeding or be of assistance to the Court in adjudicating the matter. The petition shall be served in the manner provided for in the Bad River Rules of Civil Procedure.

(d) Notice of Hearing on Petition for Customary Adoption. Upon the filing of a petition seeking an order for a customary adoption o a minor child, the Clerk of Court shall schedule a hearing to be held and shall cause written notice of such hearing to be served upon the petitioner; the child’s tribe; appropriate family members, if any; caretaker, if any; and appropriate agencies of the Band which my either have an interest in the proceedings or be of assistance to the court in adjudicating the matter. Such notice shall be served in the manner provided for in Bad River Tribal Court Code, Section 1.11.040.

(e) Hearing on Petition for Customary Adoption

(1) Attendance at hearing.

(a) The child who is the subject of a petition for customary adoption, agencies, petitioner and any appropriate family members including siblings may be present at the hearing in person or by telephone

(b) The petitioner shall be present at the hearing. The petitioner’s failure to appear shall be grounds for dismissal of the petition.

(2) Conduct of hearing.

(a) The court shall inform the parties of their rights under this code of the nature and consequences of the proceedings.

(b) The court shall further inform all other parties of their rights under the Tribal Code and pursuant to the Indian Civil Rights Act, 25 U.S.C., Section 1301-1303 (1968), as amended, including the right to summon and cross-examine witnesses.

(d) The burden of proving the allegation of the petition shall be upon the petitioner and the standard of proof shall be clear and convincing evidence.

(e) The court may continue the hearing, upon a showing of good cause, at the request of any party to the proceeding and enter such temporary orders, if any, as may be deemed just and reasonable to carry out the purposes of this Section.

(f) Final Order for Customary Adoption

If the court determines that it is in the best interests of the child and the child’s tribe, it shall issue a final order for a customary adoption. Such an order may include, but is not limited, to the following:

A statement that the child has been adopted by the petitioner(s) and that the parent-child bond is hereby established and that all of the rights and responsibilities of that relationship shall exist upon the entry of such a final order.

(g) Certification of a Customary Adoption

(1) A customary adoption, conducted in a manner consistent with this Section is a long-established, continued, reasonable process and considered by the people of the Bad River Band to be binding and authentic, and may be certified by the Children's Court as having the same effect as an adoption order issues by this court so long as it is in the best interest s of the child and the child's tribe.

(2) A decree certifying a customary adoption has the same effect as a decree or final order of customary adoption issued by this court.