Legal Opinion
Wakefield v. Little Light
Court of Appeals of Maryland
Decided November 13, 1975No. [No. 5, September Term, 1975.]PublishedCited by 32 opinions
1Opinion of the CourtMurphy, C. J.
This appeal draws into question the power of a state court to award custody of an American Indian child to non-Indian petitioners over the objection of the child’s mother and of the Indian tribe to which she belongs, and requires an examination of the jurisdictional relationships pertaining to child custody among the Indian tribes, the federal government, and the various states.
The relevant facts are these: M. Brent Wakefield and his wife Wanda (the Wakefields) were assigned as VISTA volunteers to the Crow Indian Eeservation, Lodge Grass, Montana, when in March of 1972 they first observed…
2Cases cited23 opinions
- Worcester v. GeorgiaSupreme Court of the United States · 1832
- United States v. MazurieSupreme Court of the United States · 1975
- Williams v. LeeSupreme Court of the United States · 1959
- McClanahan v. Arizona State Tax CommissionSupreme Court of the United States · 1973
- Mescalero Apache Tribe v. JonesSupreme Court of the United States · 1973
18 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by32 opinions
- Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. HolyfieldSupreme Court of the United States · 1989
- Doe v. MannCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 2005
- Matter of Adoption of HallowayUtah Supreme Court · 1986
- In Re Adoption of BuehlWashington Supreme Court · 1976
- John v. BakerAlaska Supreme Court · 1999
27 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.