Has anyone had to deal with custody issues through the Nez Perce Tribe?
K. M...
Everyone is giving you good advice... one thing that they forgot was that you need to DOCUMENT EVERYTHING!!!! I would seek legal advice of some sort before contacting the tribe. Tribes protect their children....
They will help him before they help you.... I'm in a legal custody battle.... if I can prove that I am Cherokee... I know that the tribe will help me get my child back.
Good luck...
Remember document everything,
T.
i don't know if i can help. but i know they have their own laws and some of the laws are very similar to ours just under a different jurisdiction. under our law, a parent cannot legally keep another parent from seeing their child if their is a court order. because he is not in compliance with the court order you can ask for the matter to be taken back infront of a judge. you can also contact the police or theirs and have them help enforce the court order. you need to have proof of the court order. see he can only hold you from them when it is within his right. but because he is doing it because he being cruel you can also bring the matter up regarding what is in the best interest of the children. this can be very harmful to them to be forcibly kept from their other parent. and you can bring that matter up. every thing will be brough for the matter of the welfare of the child. also, contact a family law attorney to see if they can give you advice. they do have free consultations. there are other ways of contacting someone that knows about the indians laws. check out their local court house and see if they can give you guidance. hope this helps.
I havent had experience with the nez perce tribe but most tribes will help you get an advocate. Or you could try contacting a lawyer. Legal aid may be able to offer you some assistance. I know with tribal laws it can make things more difficult but if he is not upholding the arrangement I am sure the council will work with you. Good luck I hope you can resolve the situation in a way beneficial to you and your children.
I agree. Go back to the tribe. He's not honoring the agreement. They won't like that.
I'm not sure how the Nez Perce tribe does it, but my friend is with the Siletz tribe and they are very protective of their members. I'd imagine that they will always stick up for their father before they help you. Seek legal aide! If he withholds your children, that is custodial interference and it is against the law. My sister currently shares custody with her ex over my nephew, but hasn't even seen him since last year and that was the first time since he was about 6 months old. My nephew is going on 4. Don't let this happen to you. File a complaint with your county circuit court. Even if he lives in another state, he'll have to respond in the county you live in. (I've had to deal with a custody battle myself) Tribes are difficult to negotiate with, but don't be discouraged.
Contact Legal Aide they will know what to do and give you a legal representative in the situation. NEVER do anything regarding your kids without a lawyer or a lawyer's advice even in the tribe. Good luck. I know how hard and painful this stuff is. I never knew how hard it was to get someone to pay childsupport. I don't know about the in the tribe but in the county you can have him arrested for takeing the kids when it's not his time and for keeping them from you, that is kidnapping. Seriously it IS kidnapping.
HAVE YOUR ATTORNEY (CALL LEGAL AID IF MONEY IS AN ISSUE)call his. LET THE YOUR CHILDRENS DADS TRIBE OR ATTORNEY KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON WITH HIM~ NOT KEEPING TO THE AGREEMENT. HAVE YOUR ATTORNEY DO THE TALKING FOR YOU. YOU WILL BE LESS UPSET THAT WAY. HIS TRIBAL ATTORNEY CANNOT CONTACT YOU THEN AND THAT WAY THEY CAN ONLY TALK TO YOUR ATTORNEY NOT you.YOU CAN ALSO SEND YOUR (STICK TO THE FACTS) NOTE AND SEND IT CERTIFIED MAIL , RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED FROM YOUR POST OFFICE. MAKE A COPY OF THIS PAPER AND KEEP IT IN A SAFE PLACE. whew! If all else fails call child services anonymously as you can call as "anonymous"...send the same factual comments to his Probation officer too.Send that certified, return receipt requested too and keep copies of all of these letters in your safe place. If you think your children are being endangered by this man, make a plan and move out of state or out of the country and take those precious bundles with you.... just my opinion.
I have legal guardianship of a child who is native. This is the 6th child and the mom has none of the children. Before the tribe approved us, we were told that if/when the mom ever gets her life together, she will have this child returned to her. Our experience is the tribe usually stands behind their members no matter what, and many in our county will not even fight them on issues. The court seems to have much higher respect for the tribes.
file for contempt of court, hes not abiding by the order...when you go to court explain your side to the judge..and then go and file a petition for full physical custody with visitation for him, hopefully that will put you back in the drivers seat. best of luck K. k
