In Re the Adoption of B.G.J.

Hill, J.:

In this case we are asked to decide if the district court had sufficient cause to deviate from the adoption placement preferences established in the Indian Child Welfare Act, 25 U.S.C. § 1901 et seq. (2000). While it is true that the Act establishes adoption preferences, if there is good cause, courts do not have to follow them. Relying primarily upon the relinquishing mother’s strong rejection of her extended Indian family and her equally strong preference for the adopting parents, the trial court overruled the objections of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation (Tribe) and granted the…