[timsiner]

I was recently provided with non identifying information about my birth parents and adoption.
I discovered that I am at least 1/8th native American (tribe not stated). My Grandmother was 100%.

I need advice on petitioning the Los Angeles Superior Court under section 102705 on the grounds that it is my right for myself and my daughter to reunite with our Native American tribe.
In order to do this , I need the names of be birth parents so I can search my ancestry and try
to discover what tribe we are from.

Someone told me of a law out therethat does give you me a better chance at getting my OBC and other identifying information based on my NA heritage and my right to connect with your tribe.

Has anyone here heard of this?

Any advice would bu greatly appreciated.

Tim

My Non-Identifying Adoption Info:
Nov 26 1968, Timothy Siner, Adoptee, Conoga Park Ca Usa, Los Angeles Ca Usa, Dec 4 1968, Attorney, N

[c_thompson_68]

Tim,

I am also an adoptee, and I am approximately 1/4 Native American Indian. I confirmed this through an autosomal DNA test (AncestryByDNA 2.5). Like you, my birth records are sealed, although the children's home finally released the non-ID to me in 2007 (see here). Before 2007, I had sent letters to the probate court and children's home with proof of my NA Indian ancestry, but it did nothing to provide access to my sealed birth records.

Before consulting an attorney, I decided to find the name of my birth-mother, and I used the services of a search angle (look for one in the state you where adopted). Once I found her name, I searched the archives of colleges and found a match. It turns out, my birth-mother had no Native American Indian ancestry, but my birth-father is a Mestizo (half Native American Indian) from Mexico. So that explains where the NA Indian ancestry came from.

If all else fails, I think you will need to consult with an attorney that specializes in this area. I have been talking to the Latino Small Business Development Center about classifying my business as a minority business. Of course, it would have been helpful if my birth-records where not sealed in the first place, and my ancestry was not hidden from me.

Lastly, some tribes require 1/4 NA, and others may require only 1/8 NA. From my understanding, you are not considered NA unless you know the specific tribe even if DNA test confirms it.

[bluebonnet_72]

The law you are talking about is the ICWA, Indian Child Welfare Act. It does allow the opening of records in order to provide information required to allow a Native American adoptee to enroll in his or her tribe. This doesn't necessarily mean the original birthcertificate. It might be that the court sends enough information to the tribe so that you can be enrolled.
It is pretty complicated, and might depend of if you were adopted before ICWA was enacted in 1978. We are probably going to have to go to court to have information released under ICWA to enroll my daughter in her tribe, and this is despite the fact that her adoption was done under this law.
For ICWA to apply, your biological grandmother, or great-grandmother etc. would need to be an enrolled member of a legally recognized tribe. Just having Native American DNA doesn't count.
Good luck.