Cherokee Nation father Dusten Brown and his family in Oklahoma. Photo Courtesy National Indian Child Welfare Association
An appeals court in Oklahoma heard arguments today in a custody dispute involving a Cherokee Nation girl. The hearing was closed to the public, The Tulsa World reported. Attorneys in the case are under a gag order so information is scarce. But the Oklahoma Supreme Court has put a stay on two orders that would have required Dusten Brown, Cherokee, to turn over his daughter to a non-Indian couple from South Carolina. The hearing today apparently involves an appeal of those orders. Brown's daughter turned 4 on Sunday. She spent the early part of her life with the South Carolina couple and went back to Oklahoma when Brown won custody under the Indian Child Welfare Act. The U.S. Supreme Court on June 25 ruled that ICWA did not apply in Brown's situation. The South Carolina courts have finalized the adoption of his daughter to the non-Indian couple but his family remains in Oklahoma on tribal trust land. Get the Story:
Veronica custody case moves to Tulsa courtroom (The Tulsa World 9/16)
Veronica apparently will stay in Oklahoma during appeal (The Tulsa World 9/14)
Oklahoma Supreme Court to hear case involving custody dispute over 3-year-old Cherokee girl (AP 9/13) Related Stories:
Christian evangelicals support adoptive couple in ICWA case (9/13)
Scott Starr: Conservative politics affect Cherokee ICWA case (9/12)
UN official urges consideration of culture in adoption dispute (9/11)
Cherokee Nation father files second appeal in adoption dispute (9/9)
Cherokee Nation father out on bail pending extradition hearing (9/6)
Oklahoma governor signs extradition order for Cherokee father (9/5)
Court puts hold on transfer of Cherokee girl to non-Indian couple (9/4)
Cherokee Nation father files appeal in Oklahoma's highest court (9/3)
Court hearing in custody dispute over Cherokee Nation girl (8/30)
South Carolina officers in Oklahoma for Indian custody case (8/29)
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