MMIWG: Cold Case Solved in Iowa

HUNTER: Iowa MMIWG cold case bust shames virtue-signalling Canada

In America, they've closed cases, made arrests and brought justice

Brad Hunter  Jan 23, 2025 TORONTO SUN NEWSPAPER

Indigenous mother of two Terri McCauley, 18, was murdered in 1983. American cops have closed the case. ISP

The shotgun blast took Terri McCauley’s face off, killing her instantly.

She was found murdered on Sept. 27, 1983, in Sioux City, Iowa and for more than 40 years, her case was cold as a cucumber.

A member of the Omaha Tribe, McCauley, 18, fell under the dark umbrella of murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG).  There have been varying estimates of the casualty figures but it’s somewhere between 4,000 and 7,000.

But while Canada has been content to virtue signal and sloganeer just enough to keep the denizens of the Annex, Westmount and the Glebe smug, America has taken action.  Adding insult to injury for the woke, the bold initiative was started by President Donald Trump during his first term in office.

Canada’s chattering classes talked, self-flagellated, scolded and offered meaningless tears.  In America, they’ve closed cases, made arrests and brought justice, relief and maybe some closure to the families of the dead.

MMIWG: A criminology professor has warned that the real number of murdered Indigenous women and girls could be double official estimates.

The U.S. formed half a dozen task forces in “Indian Country” to solve the murders and disappearances. Canada?  Not so much.

Toronto Police cold case boss Det. Sgt. Steve Smith told the Toronto Sun that it isn’t as if this kind of initiative hadn’t been brought to the current government.

“With TPS, we have the ideal model to serve all of Ontario,” Smith said, adding that for the past three years, the solicitor general has provided funding to tackle 30 unsolved murders, unidentified bodies and historic sex assaults.

COLD CASE WHIZ: Det. Sgt. Steve Smith of the TPS. DATELINE

“Federally, we asked numerous times for funding to set up a national task force to make the expertise accessible across Canada but there was zero traction.

“We’re hoping to take it up again with a new federal government. So many of the MMIWG cases are easily solvable.”

Smith and TPS have been at the forefront of the revolution in cold-case investigations. Using genetic genealogy, they have closed some of the city’s most vexing homicides: Christine Jessop, Susan Tice, Erin Gilmour and others.

But anyone will tell you, that land acknowledgements are cheap and easier than solving a homicide.

McCauley — a mother of two — was last seen that terrible day 41 years ago getting into a car with an unknown man. Her body was found 10 days later.

The wheels of justice grind slowly, but grind they do. Last week, cops announced that they had arrested Thomas Popp, 62, of Lakeview, Washington. He is now charged with first-degree murder.

The arrest of Popp and others by MMIWG cold-case task forces has given renewed hope to Native American communities that maybe, just maybe, justice will be done after decades of agony.

REMEMBER: A makeshift memorial to murdered mother of two Terri McCauley. Cops say they've arrested her killer after more than 40 years. FACEBOOK

“Since Monday, I think it definitely has given hope and courage for these families to continue to fight for justice for their families or their relatives who have gone missing and murdered,” Trisha Rivers, of the Great Plains Action Society, told reporters.

She added that the arrest shows what can happen when cops and the justice system work with the Native community.

Rivers said: “This case means so much to everybody in Indian Country because I feel like all of us can relate to it in some kind of way that makes sense.”

Meanwhile, in Canada, bureaucrats get fat, money is spent on fecal hygiene in Ghana, and the agony of the affected families and their communities continues apace.

bhunter@postmedia.com | @HunterTOSun

 

MORE:

Man charged in 1983 murder in Sioux City

Radio Iowa| 14 days ago

An arrest has been made in the cold case murder of a woman in Sioux City four decades ago. Thomas Duane Popp is charged in the shooting death of 18-year-old Terri McCauley in 1983. A grand jury convened in Woodbury County last week and indicted the 62-year-old Popp for first-degree murder and he was arrested

 

Technicalities: Transfer to Tribal Court Case from Iowa Supreme Court [ICWA] [CASA]

Background: Brackeen v. Bernhardt HAALAND threatens to topple ICWA and place Native American children at risk. Supreme Court Justices agree to review constitutionality of Indian Child Welfare Act (Amy Howe, February 28, 2022)

Earlier article worth a read: https://blog.americanindianadoptees.com/2019/05/op-ed-preserve-indian-child-welfare-act.html

Kate Fort : Transfer to Tribal Court Case from Iowa Supreme Court [ICWA]

210243_816EBFA59A154

This is a very useful decision directly addressing one for the most difficult parts of a transfer process--whether the state court will use a best interest analysis to determine jurisdiction.

These are not reasons to deny a tribe jurisdiction over a child welfare case:

The State argued that transfer should be denied because of the lack of
responsibility by Mother and Father, the efforts of the foster parents to promote
the children’s Native American heritage, and the good relationship between the
current professionals and the children. The guardian ad litem for the children
joined the State in resisting the transfer of the case to tribal court.

Oh, and would you look at that, a CASA:👈  👇

The juvenile court noted that the court appointed special advocate (CASA) for the children recommended that the parental rights of the parents be terminated and the children continue living with the foster parents.  (And a full picture of the racist underpinnings of the modern child welfare system helps develop a fuller view of CASA programs. The term structural racism can call to mind invisible forces that shape the world in a discriminatory way.)

But don't worry--the Iowa Supreme Court clearly channeled the Washington Supreme Court in its thoughtful discussion of ICWA and its purpose, summarizing that

The federal ICWA and accompanying regulations and guidelines establish a framework for consideration of motions to transfer juvenile matters from state court to tribal court. Although good cause is not elaborated at length, both the statute and regulations state in some detail what is not good cause. Absent an objection to transfer or a showing of unavailability or
substantial hardship with a tribal forum, transfer is to occur. Clearly, Congress has an overall objective in enacting ICWA to establish a framework for the preservation of Native American families wherever possible.

The Court goes on to discuss the Iowa ICWA at length, along with some bad caselaw in Iowa, specifically the In re J.L. case, which is a really awful decision and has been a pain to deal with for years.

This Court states,

State courts have struggled with the statutory question of whether federal
or state ICWA statutes permit a child to raise a best interests challenge to
transfer to tribal courts. In In re N.V., 744 N.W.2d 634, we answered the
question. After surveying the terms of the federal and state ICWA statutes, we
concluded that the statutes did not permit a child to challenge transfer on best
interests grounds. Id. at 638–39.

***

In short, there can be no substantive due process violation arising from a
statute that refuses to allow a party to present on an issue irrelevant to the
proceeding. To that extent, we overrule the holding ofIn re J.L. (emphasis ADDED)

***

In conclusion, if there is no objecting child above the age of twelve, we hold
that the transfer provisions of ICWA which do not permit a child from raising the
best interests of the child to oppose transfer does not violate substantive due
process.

Therefore,

In an ICWA proceeding, the United States Supreme Court observed that
“we must defer to the experience, wisdom, and compassion of the . . . tribal
courts to fashion an appropriate remedy” in Indian child welfare cases. Holyfield,
490 U.S. at 54 (quoting In re Adoption of Halloway, 732 P.2d at 972). These
observations apply in this case

There is a small dissent on whether the Father could appeal this case, but no issues with the Tribe's appeal. Also, a reminder that the issue of jurisdiction was never a question Brackeen and decisions like this one are tremendously helpful for tribes seeking to transfer cases.

 

FYI:

Volunteer child advocates, or “CASAs” (Court Appointed Special Advocates), are lay volunteer guardians ad litem appointed by the family court to represent the “best interests” of children who enter the child welfare system. 

(report)

[[...what is particularly striking about the proliferation of volunteer CASA programs is just how visible, and visibly racist, they are. When a CASA is appointed to speak for a child in family court, the child’s parents lose one of the most cherished responsibilities any person can have—the power to decide what is best for their own children and speak on their behalf.  This power is not transferred to the child, but rather to the CASA herself; once appointed, it is the CASA who voices “the child’s” position, based on the CASA’s own assessment of what the CASA thinks is best for the child. 4 When that power—not just the power to determine a child’s fate, but the power to even speak one’s own opinion on the matter—is distributed away from poor families and children of color and given to a group of middle-class white volunteers, the racial bias in the system—the structural racism—is not just clearly visible, but is actually given a seat at the table in court for all to see. And that power works real, tangible harms on families who encounter the child welfare system. The simple act of having a CASA assigned increases the chance that a parent’s rights to her child will be terminated, 5 an outcome that has been called the “civil death penalty.” CASA programs have carved out a unique and in some ways untouchable role in child welfare decision-making nationwide.

IOWA: adoptees can get their files

WHAT STATES have open access to adoption records and your OBC (original birth certificate) - 9 states currently allow for unrestricted access to OBC  ::  read here

Access to Original Birth Certificates

IOWA Adoptees may now receive a noncertified copy of the certificate of birth prior to adoption

HF855 was signed into law on May 19, 2021. This new legislation allows an adult adoptee to apply for a noncertified copy of the original certificate of birth prior to adoption immediately. If the adult adoptee is deceased, an entitled family may apply for the record.

Beginning January 1, 2022, any adult adoptee 18 years old or older may apply for a noncertified copy of the original certificate of birth prior to adoption. If the adult adoptee is deceased, an entitled family may apply for the record.

• Proper application, proof of identity and entitlement must exist before a noncertified copy of the original certificate of birth may be issued to any party.
• Contact preference forms and medical history forms may be on file for the biological parent(s) named on the record. If the contact preference forms and medical history forms are on file, the forms will be released with the noncertified original certificate of birth.
• Biological parents may state their preference to release their identity and option for contact, or for their identity to be redacted from the original certificate of birth prior to adoption.
• An original noncertified certificate of birth prior to adoption may be released regardless of any contact preference forms being filed when proper application has been made and proof of entitlement exists.

 

EXPECTED PROCESSING TIME TO COMPLETE COPY REQUESTS SUBMITTED IS 6 TO 8 WEEKS

•  Biological Parent Contact Preference Form
•  Biological Parent Medical History Form
•  Application to Request a Noncertified Copy of Original Certificate of Birth Prior to Adoption

 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What does Iowa Code section 144.24A allow?

• The new law allows an adult adoptee to request and receive a noncertified copy of their original certificate of birth that was created prior to their adoption. Biological parent information is listed on this document. 
• The new law allows biological parents to file contact preference and medical history forms with the Bureau of Health Statistics. These forms shall be released to the adult adoptee or entitled person upon proper application.

Who else can request a noncertified copy of the original certificate of birth for an adoptee?

• An entitled person may request and receive a noncertified copy of the original certificate of birth prior to adoption if the adoptee is deceased.

Who is an entitled person? 

• An entitled person is the spouse of the adopted person who is deceased, or an adult related to the adopted person who is deceased within the second degree of consanguinity. The second degree of consanguinity is applied to individuals after adoption.

Who is within the second degree of consanguinity?

• The following individuals are within the second degree of consanguinity of the adult adoptee: children, parents, grandchildren, siblings and grandparents.

Can an original noncertified copy of a birth certificate prior to adoption be released if no contact preference form has been filed?

• Yes.

If I am a biological parent listed on an original certificate of birth prior to adoption, when can I filed a contact preference form and medical history form?

• The Bureau will accept contact preference forms and medical history forms immediately.  If the contact preference form and medical history form is submitted to the Bureau of Health Statistics after the release dates noted above, adult adoptees or entitled persons may have requested the original certificate of birth prior to adoption. Contact preference forms and medical history forms are provided with the noncertified original certificate of birth once filed.

 

Applications for a noncertified copy of the original certificate of birth prior to adoption, contact preference and medical history forms will only be accepted via mail or in-person at the Bureau of Health Statistics. These forms will not be filed at any other issuing office.

 

Mail contact preference and medical history forms to:

Iowa Department of Public Health
Bureau of Health Statistics
Lucas State Office Building
1st Floor, 321 E. 12th Street
Des Moines, Iowa   50319-0075

Federal ICWA lawsuit remains a case to watch despite split decision in 5th Circuit Court of Appeals

 LISTEN

 

A lawsuit challenging the Indian Child Welfare Act received a split decision in federal appeals court on April 6, 2021. The law, the lawsuit and the split resulted in a 300-plus-page decision that confounded experts and lay people alike. The decision won’t impact Alaska directly. But legal experts  say Alaska should still keep an eye on the case.

The Indian Child Welfare Act, or ICWA, basically provides Tribes with an opportunity to intervene when state child welfare and adoption agencies consider whether or not to remove a Native child from a home. The children can be enrolled citizens of the Tribe or be eligible for membership status. 

Sending Them Home #ICWA

“The prayers of the children are very powerful, and I believe the prayers of the children are what brought us here,” LaMere said during his opening remarks. “Our children feed the system, and all of us let it happen. We make it easy for them, but that time has to stop.”

Researchers in the 1960s had found that up to 35 percent of all Native children were being taken from their families and tribes and placed in white homes or institutions.  ICWA, passed in 1978, aimed to curtail that practice, and to preserve Native culture and tribes by placing children with Native families when their biological parents could not care for them. A few states – including Iowa and Nebraska, where American Indian children are removed from their families at higher rates than their white peers – have adopted their own versions of ICWA.

GOOD READ: Sending Them Home