Abstract
Mixed Indigenous families (MIFs) navigating parental custody in the United States can find themselves trapped in a Battleship®-style jurisdictional maze, where tribal, state, and federal authorities collide unpredictably. This legal mess threatens to separate children from their tribal communities, undermines tribal sovereignty, and can force families into years of costly litigation. The problem is rooted in centuries of white supremacist law and policy that systematically dispossess tribes of culture and self-governance: from the Marshall Trilogy to the boarding school era and harmful adoption schemes. Today, legal frameworks like the UCCJEA remain insufficient as they minimize or ignore tribal civil jurisdiction, reinforce the Doctrine of Indigenous Disregard, or fail to protect MIFs from loopholes that allow non-Indians to escape tribal authority. While legal scholarship has identified gaps in state and federal Indian law, it has rarely examined the historical and jurisdictional inequities that uniquely affect MIFs.
This Article applies a trilateral federalism lens to illuminate the convoluted interplay between tribal, state, and federal courts in parental custody disputes. Case studies reveal systemic biases, microaggressions, misapplied statutes, and the prioritization of state authority over tribal governance. This Article proposes practical reforms, including codifying UCCJEA § 104, fostering tribal-state comity through Memorandums of Understanding (MOAs) and compacts, and embedding Indigenous law and perspectives into doctrinal courses. By centering MIFs’ rights and tribal sovereignty in legal decision-making, this Article provides a corrective to longstanding jurisdictional inequities and demonstrates that incorporating Indigenous voices is essential for designing fair legal models.
Recommended Citation
Susie "Nis" Wilbur,
Beyond ICWA: Within Family Court Systems, Mixed Indigenous Families Confront Ongoing Jurisdictional Violence,
14 Am. Indian L.J.
(2026).
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.seattleu.edu/ailj/vol14/iss1/10
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