Attorney claims Absentee Shawnee Tribe was told of adoption

Monday, September 16, 2013  

The Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma knew about an adoption involving an Indian girl who has been taken to South Carolina, an attorney for the non-Indian couple said.

Attorney Raymond Godwin said the tribe was told at least three months before the birth about the adoption. He claims the tribe did not object at the time.

Shannon Jones, an attorney for the tribe, disagreed. He said the tribe and the non-Indian father filed an objection in June, the same month the girl was born.

An Oklahoma judge has ordered the girl to be returned to the state. The non-Indian couple took her to South Carolina 37 days after she was born, The Charleston Post and Courier reported.

Get the Story:
South Carolina couple’s attorney says Oklahoma tribe never expressed interest before Desaray’s birth (The Charleston Post and Courier 9/14)

Related Stories:
Absentee Shawnee Tribe seeks return of girl in South Carolina (9/13)
Oklahoma court backs Absentee Shawnee Tribe in ICWA case (9/12)
Same attorneys worked on adoptions for two Indian babies (08/30)