Native American Law VS. US Law?

Question

My ex husband is Native American and has his card. Currently I have custody of one of our children and he has custody of the other. We went to court for this in a US county court but now he says he's going to move the case to his tribal court. Can he do this? If so, how to I defend myself in this situation?

Answer 1

Federal Law trumps tribal law

Answer 2

depends on the tribe and the situation - also depends on his residency (does he live on tribal reservation or annexed land), and on the tribal affiliation of the children. It will also depend on what court you have been to - I assume you went to a county family court to decide custody.

In reality the best advice would be to contact a local attorney familiar with this particular tribal government and current state custody laws. While it is true that Federal courts will override most tribal court decisions, county and state courts may be a different story.

I'm also not 100% certain that a tribal court would even want to get involved in a child custody case that was already decided in a county court. He may just be blowing smoke.

Best of luck to you ...

Answer 3

I live in Oklahoma so this is more common here than many people think. You must contact an attorney ASAP. This is not a  US law question but a State law question. In reality most of these going to tribal court will not give him an advantage. Tribal judges just like State and County judges are going to be more concerned with the welfare of the children than anything else.