Indian Times: Review of news affecting tribes in Oklahoma

A South Carolina judge has dismissed contempt of court charges filed against the biological father of a young girl caught up in a custody dispute. The contempt case was dropped on Jan. 16 after Dusten Brown and the Cherokee Nation reached an agreement with Matt and Melanie Capobianco, who are the adoptive parents of 4-year-old Veronica.

Brown faced contempt charges after initially refusing to comply with a judge’s order to return Veronica to the Capobiancos. In 2013, Brown gave Veronica to the couple after Oklahoma’s Supreme Court lifted an order keeping her in the state. The Capobiancos are seeking more than $1 million in legal fees and expenses from Brown and the Cherokee Nation, of which Brown is a citizen. That case remains pending in Oklahoma court.

In a related story, The Cherokee Nation has passed a new law giving added protection to biological parents in adoptive and foster care cases. The Cherokee Nation tribal council passed the law last week that gives first preference in adoptive and foster care cases involving Cherokee children to biological parents deemed fit.

Next priority is given to a member of the child's extended family, other members of the Cherokee Nation or other Native American families in the placement of a child under the law. Chief Bill John Baker says the law will help ensure Cherokee children live in a "culturally appropriate" home.