Two kids were recently escorted from an American Indian reservation located out of state by U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs officers. The grandmother of the children had brought them to the reservation during a dispute concerning which parent should have child custody. When a child custody dispute arises in New York, the parents involved typically seek professional legal help.
On a day in late November, the officers served a warrant from a court in the same state that the father of the children resides in. The grandmother of the children was detained on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation. Concurrently, a separate officer collected the children, drove them to the border of the reservation and returned them to their father.
The children had been picked up by their grandmother in the latter part of September, after which she took them to the reservation. The Minnesota court had imposed orders regarding child custody — orders that the grandmother thought she would be out of the jurisdiction of while on the reservation; she also believed that a court order from a tribal court would give custody of the children to her daughter. In 2014, a Montana judge had awarded the kids’ father temporary custody due to the fact that their mother was unable to care for them as a result of her battling addiction in addition to legal problems.
Although some married couples in New York may not agree on every aspect of a divorce, almost all agree that their highest priority is doing what is best for the children. Some parents may be in disagreement as to the best way to accomplish this goal. If this occurs and the parents involved cannot reach an agreement on the child custody arrangements, they sometimes consult experienced attorneys who can represent their best interests concerning the matter of their children.
Source: flatheadbeacon.com, “U.S. officers take kids off reservation amid custody fight“, Amy Beth Hanson, Dec. 1, 2015
