Law for NA Adoptees to unseal Original Birth Sertificate?

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 [URL="http://forums.adoption.com/ohio-adoption-records/370132-worthingtons-childrens-home.html"]here[/URL]). 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.

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.

California Indian Legal Services has posted an amazing document detailing how to petition the California courts to have birth records unsealed in order to establish tribal affiliation. I am part Cherokee (according to my non-identifying information), was adopted in Los Angeles County, and plan to pursue this. This is a total step by step guide to walk a layperson through the whole legal process. Low income people can also receive assistance from CILS, too, if necessary. Here's the link: [url]http://www.calindian.org/selfhelppdfs/SelfHelpBirthRecords0409.pdf[/url] Best wishes!

California Native adoptees are getting their cases opened.. contact me kumeyaayindian@hotmail.com Karen