June/July 2013 - Central Council Tlingit Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska

Cara Wallace
(Cont. from cover)
The Udall Foundation’s
highly regarded internship
program is intended to provide
American Indians and Alaska
Natives with an insider’s view
of the federal government. The
10-week internship is located
in Washington, D.C., and is
known for placing students
in extremely competitive
internship positions in Senate
and House offices, committees,
Cabinet departments, and the
White House, where they are
able to observe government
decision-making processes
firsthand.
To learn more about the Udall
Foundation and its internship,
please visit their site at www.
udall.gov.
22
Supporting
Families
Central Council offers family
related services to support
the individual needs of our
tribal families. Child safety
and well being are top
priorities. Easy access
to professional,
respectful
services is our
commitment.
For more
information,
please contact
Tribal Family
& Youth
Services
in Juneau at
907.463.7169
or toll free at
1.800.344.1432.
Are Your Children and Grandchildren
Enrolled Tribal Citizens
Submitted By: Le Florendo
Did you know that the Tlingit Haida Central Council has an open enrollment
Our Program Compliance Office accepts membership applications on a daily
basis. There is no quantum requirement, no residency requirement. Our
Tribal Enrollment Committee meets during the year to review applications.
Why is this important In our Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) Program,
we are finding that more and more parents of children are not enrolled tribal
citizens. Neither are the children.
This means that we are having a hard time convincing most courts that an
involuntary removal case falls under the protections of the ICWA (all state
courts must apply ICWA to involuntary removal cases if we can show that the
parent is an enrolled tribal citizen).
Sometimes we can bully our way into court hearings, but if the Tlingit or
Haida parent is not or chooses not to enroll, then the Court does not apply the
protections of ICWA.
The minimum federal standards that apply across the country are:
Parents are entitled to an attorney if they cannot afford one. A mother and
father should have separate attorneys because their interests in the child/ren
may go in opposite directions during the course of a case.
Placement preferences for Indian children are 1st order: with a member of the
child’s extended family; 2nd order: a member of the child’s tribe; 3rd order: a
member of another tribe. If a child’s plan is adoption, we look for a member
of the child’s family to serve as a permanent placement. We try to do this at
the beginning of the case, rather than at the Termination of Parental Rights
phase of a case.
ICWA does not apply to custody disputes between parents of a Tlingit or
Haida child. If a parent in the dispute is non-Native, that parent meets the
ICWA definition of “parent.” The ICWA definition does not distinguish
between Native and non-Native.
Bringing it back to enrollment applications, if the Native parent of the child is
the father, his name must be on the child’s birth certificate – or the applicant
should attach the paperwork showing the results of DNA testing verifying his
relationship to the child. Enrollment applications are available on the Central
Council website.
Again, under ICWA, a parent of the child must be a card-carrying tribal
citizen. As we go through life, tribal citizenship can be very important, both
spiritually and concretely – when you know who you are and where you
come from. Our ICWA Program tries to connect children to their parents’ or
grandparents’ villages or communities. You would be surprised to know how
many people are excited about where they come from.