Former Sen. Abourezk clarifies comment about ICWA case

Tuesday, January 24, 2012  

Former U.S. Sen. Jim Abourezk appears to have changed his tune about an Indian Child Welfare Act case.

A couple of weeks ago, Abourezk told a South Carolina paper that ICWA wasn't intended to cover cases like the one involving a two-year-old girl who was adopted without the consent of the Cherokee Nation. But in a new interview, he says it appears the law wasn't followed properly.

"I hate these kinds of cases that are not clear cut, and this one's not," Abourezk, who introduced and wrote ICWA, told Fox23 News in Oklahoma.

Dusten Brown, who lives in Oklahoma, regained custody of his daughter after the tribe intervened in his case. A non-Indian couple is asking the South Carolina Supreme Court to grant them custody.

Get the Story:
ICWA law at center of adoption controversy (Fox 23 News 1/23)

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South Carolina Supreme Court pushed to take up ICWA case (01/18)
Cherokee Nation seeks gag order in ICWA dispute making news (1/5)
Cherokee Nation man wins custody of daughter in ICWA case (1/3)