A view of the village of Minto, a federally recognized tribe in Alaska. Photo by JKBrooks85 / Wikipedia

Tribal court decisions in child welfare matters must be treated with the same respect as state court decisions, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled today.

Edward Parks was found to be an unfit parent by the tribal court in the village of Minto due to repeated abuse of his girlfriend. He disputed the legitimacy of the tribe's proceedings after he lost custody of his daughter.

The Alaska Supreme Court, however, said the daughter is an "Indian child" under the Indian Child Welfare Act. Therefore, the tribal court's proceedings are valid under the law, the court determined.

Further, the court said the tribal court proceedings should not be treated any differently than those from another state. Alaska Attorney General Michael Geraghty intervened in the case and tried to argue that tribes did not deserve the same "full faith and credit" as other sovereigns.

"The state’s argument for a different type of full faith and credit for tribal judgments in ICWA-defined child custody proceedings is clearly foreclosed by the statutory language," the court wrote, "which requires full faith and credit 'to the same extent' as that given to any other entity including other states."

Parks also failed to exhaust his tribal court remedies, the decision stated. He refused to bring a challenge to the Minto Court of Appeals after losing custody and instead sued the foster parents of his daughter.

Parks is a member of the Stevens Village. Bessie Stearman. the mother of the girl, is from Minto and her parental rights were also terminated due to repeated substance abuse issues.

Parks was later found found guilty of kidnapping and assaulting Stearman. He is serving a 59-year prison term for his crimes.

Turtle Talk has posted briefs from the case, Simmonds v. Parks.

Get the Story:
Alaska Supreme Court sides with Interior tribe in child custody, sovereignty case (The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 7/18)

Alaska Supreme Court Decision:
Simmonds v. Parks (July 18, 2014)

Related Stories:
Opinion: Alaska tribal court doesn't protect due process right (9/26)
Editorial: Alaska should respect decision of Minto Tribe's court (9/9)
Alaska disputes tribal court jurisdiction in child welfare case (8/26)