After struggle, a happy victory for Native mother, children, the Indian Child Welfare Act

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Kevin Abourezk: Omaha woman fights to keep custody of girls
Monday, October 28, 2013
Filed Under: Law | National 
More on: icwa, kevin abourezk, nebraska, omaha, supreme court
    
      Kevin Abourezk reports on Nebraska v. Elise M., an Indian Child Welfare Actinvolving a mother from the Omaha Tribe: 
        A legal setback in Elise Mallory's child custody dispute with the state of Nebraska last February nearly drove the young Omaha Native woman from her alcohol treatment program. 

        Just a few months earlier, Mallory had celebrated a state supreme court decision that had given her hope of seeing her two daughters soon. The Nebraska Supreme Court had reversed a lower court's ruling giving custody to the state. 

        Now, as Mallory worked through treatment at a hospital in Winnebago, she learned the Lancaster County Attorney's Office would appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. 

        "I almost walked out of treatment," she said. "It was very hard for me." 

        But the 24-year-old Lincoln mother didn't give up. 

        And on Oct. 7, in her eighth month of sobriety, Mallory celebrated what will be the ultimate victory. The U.S. Supreme Court denied the county attorney's writ of certiorari, ending the state's attempts to retain custody. 

      Get the Story:
      Kevin Abourezk: Native child welfare case triggers alarms (The Lincoln Journal Star 10/27) 
     

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