A Native American tribe in Oklahoma has been awarded custody this week of a four-month-old baby who was adopted by a South Carolina couple. The case has drawn comparisons to the long-running adoption dispute over three-year-old Cherokee girl Veronica and led to criticisms of 'human trafficking' from tribes. In the latest case, an Oklahoma County District Court judge awarded custody of baby Desaray, who had been adopted by a couple from outside the state, to the Absentee Shawnee Tribe. Inquiry: Tribe attorney Charles Tripp says adoption lawyers should be investigated . Custody: Raymond Godwin is representing the South Carolina couple . The case echoes that of . three-year-old Veronica, who was also put up for adoption by her birth . mother, only for the biological father to later object. A . federal law called the Indian Child Welfare Act mandates strict . procedures for guardianship and custody of Native American children. The . unnamed couple who adopted Desaray were present at her birth in May. They returned with her to South Carolina in June so the father could . return to work. But the . baby's biological father, Jeremy Simmons, who is not Native American, is . seeking custody. Because Desaray's biological mother is a tribal . member, the Absentee Shawnee Tribe stepped in and was awarded custody . this week. The Indian Child . Welfare Act mandates that Native American children enrolled in a tribe . must first be placed with an extended family member, another tribal . member who is not a family member or another Native American from a . different tribe. This . summer, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Dusten Brown, a Cherokee . Nation member who is seeking custody of his daughter, Veronica, could . not use the law to press his claims for custody. Veronica's . biological mother is not Native American. Courts in South Carolina and . Oklahoma have ordered Mr Brown to hand over the girl to Matt and Melanie . Capobianco, but Mr Brown has refused. Custody battle: Veronica, pictured above with biological father Dusten Brown has been at the center of a custody tug-of-war for her entire life . A . lawyer representing the Absentee Shawnee Tribe in the Desaray case said . he fears the tribe could have trouble in its effort to bring Desaray . back to Oklahoma. Charles Tripp said he believes the South Carolina-based adoption lawyer, Ray Godwin, who helped set up adoption cases involving Veronica and Desaray, and other adoption lawyers should be investigated by the Department of Justice. He told Indian Country Today Media Network last month that tribal attorneys were caught off guard in May when they heard that Desaray had been moved to Oklahoma. 'She was already gone and out of the state before we even received notice,' he claimed. 'The adoptive couple paid their money and took off with the kid without the required approval of either the State of Oklahoma or the Absentee Shawnee.' Mr Tripp had called for an investigation to end the 'human trafficking of our tribal children in South Carolina'. 'Part of the reason for an investigation is the fact that I think we've got women, primarily, who are in bad situations financially, maybe emotionally, maybe societal issues – whether that's drug and alcohol issues or criminal issues – who are being selected, preyed upon, by these agencies,' he said. 'I think they prey upon people in dire straits.' In a statement, Mr Godwin said the Absentee Shawnee Tribe were aware of the plan for adoption before the birth and did not voice any objections. He acknowledged that the couple did leave Oklahoma without obtaining an interstate compact agreement, which governs the placement of children from one state to another. 'But they only did so under dire circumstances,' Mr Godwin said in the statement. 'Any statements by the birth father or the Absentee Shawnee Indian Tribe that the child was whisked out of Oklahoma a couple of days after birth are patently false.' Mr Godwin said the couple went to family court in South Carolina where a temporary custody order was put in place. It's unclear if the adoptive couple plan to appeal the Oklahoma order, though Mr Godwin did write that the couple are trying to obtain an interstate compact agreement.
Law on Native American adoptions says child must be placed with tribe first .
Couple had been present for birth before returning home with new baby .
A Native American tribe in Oklahoma has been awarded custody this week of a four-month-old baby who was adopted by a South Carolina couple. The case has drawn comparisons to the long-running adoption dispute over three-year-old Cherokee girl Veronica and led to criticisms of 'human trafficking' from tribes. In the latest case, an Oklahoma County District Court judge awarded custody of baby Desaray, who had been adopted by a couple from outside the state, to the Absentee Shawnee Tribe. Inquiry: Tribe attorney Charles Tripp says adoption lawyers should be investigated . Custody: Raymond Godwin is representing the South Carolina couple . The case echoes that of . three-year-old Veronica, who was also put up for adoption by her birth . mother, only for the biological father to later object. A . federal law called the Indian Child Welfare Act mandates strict . procedures for guardianship and custody of Native American children. The . unnamed couple who adopted Desaray were present at her birth in May. They returned with her to South Carolina in June so the father could . return to work. But the . baby's biological father, Jeremy Simmons, who is not Native American, is . seeking custody. Because Desaray's biological mother is a tribal . member, the Absentee Shawnee Tribe stepped in and was awarded custody . this week. The Indian Child . Welfare Act mandates that Native American children enrolled in a tribe . must first be placed with an extended family member, another tribal . member who is not a family member or another Native American from a . different tribe. This . summer, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Dusten Brown, a Cherokee . Nation member who is seeking custody of his daughter, Veronica, could . not use the law to press his claims for custody. Veronica's . biological mother is not Native American. Courts in South Carolina and . Oklahoma have ordered Mr Brown to hand over the girl to Matt and Melanie . Capobianco, but Mr Brown has refused. Custody battle: Veronica, pictured above with biological father Dusten Brown has been at the center of a custody tug-of-war for her entire life . A . lawyer representing the Absentee Shawnee Tribe in the Desaray case said . he fears the tribe could have trouble in its effort to bring Desaray . back to Oklahoma. Charles Tripp said he believes the South Carolina-based adoption lawyer, Ray Godwin, who helped set up adoption cases involving Veronica and Desaray, and other adoption lawyers should be investigated by the Department of Justice. He told Indian Country Today Media Network last month that tribal attorneys were caught off guard in May when they heard that Desaray had been moved to Oklahoma. 'She was already gone and out of the state before we even received notice,' he claimed. 'The adoptive couple paid their money and took off with the kid without the required approval of either the State of Oklahoma or the Absentee Shawnee.' Mr Tripp had called for an investigation to end the 'human trafficking of our tribal children in South Carolina'. 'Part of the reason for an investigation is the fact that I think we've got women, primarily, who are in bad situations financially, maybe emotionally, maybe societal issues – whether that's drug and alcohol issues or criminal issues – who are being selected, preyed upon, by these agencies,' he said. 'I think they prey upon people in dire straits.' In a statement, Mr Godwin said the Absentee Shawnee Tribe were aware of the plan for adoption before the birth and did not voice any objections. He acknowledged that the couple did leave Oklahoma without obtaining an interstate compact agreement, which governs the placement of children from one state to another. 'But they only did so under dire circumstances,' Mr Godwin said in the statement. 'Any statements by the birth father or the Absentee Shawnee Indian Tribe that the child was whisked out of Oklahoma a couple of days after birth are patently false.' Mr Godwin said the couple went to family court in South Carolina where a temporary custody order was put in place. It's unclear if the adoptive couple plan to appeal the Oklahoma order, though Mr Godwin did write that the couple are trying to obtain an interstate compact agreement.
awarded custody of baby Desaray, who had been guardianship and custody of Native American children enrolled in a tribe . must first be placed with an extended family member, another