Do §§1917 and 1951 apply to adoptions completed prior to the enactment of ICWA?
Yes. The ICWA provides an adult Indian adoptee the right to access his or her records for adoptions completed before the ICWA’s enactment on May 7, 1979. Indeed, 1923 states, in part, that the ICWA applies to subsequent proceedings related to the adoption proceeding, including access to records of those proceedings under the Act. The Michigan Court of Appeals held that a petition to examine adoption records for the purpose of establishing an adoptee’s Indian heritage is a “subsequent proceeding” to the original adoption proceeding. Adoption proceedings are Indian child custody proceedings under the Act and, therefore, are covered by the Act. In re Hanson, 470 N.W.2d 669, 671 (Mich. Ct. App. 1991). Likewise, the New York Family Court held that ” 1923 extends provisions of the ICWA to both adoptions completed subsequent to the effective date of the ICWA and to subsequent proceedings in adoptions of Indian children which were completed prior to the effective date of the ICWA.” In re Linda
