## Facts

- Elaine F. Hanson was adopted as a child and, as an adult, sought to determine whether she had Native American heritage.
- Hanson believed that proof of Native American heritage could qualify her for a state tuition waiver and other benefits tied to tribal status or affiliation.
- Hanson petitioned the Wayne County Probate Court for access to her sealed adoption records so she could investigate and document her ancestry.
- The probate court denied the petition, reasoning that Hanson had not shown sufficient grounds under applicable law to justify releasing the sealed records.
- Hanson appealed the denial to the Michigan Court of Appeals, arguing that the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), including 25 U.S.C. § 1917, entitled her to information from the adoption file needed to determine tribal affiliation and membership eligibility.

## Issues

1. Whether Hanson's post-adoption request for information from sealed adoption records is a “subsequent proceeding” to which ICWA applies.
2. Whether ICWA § 1917 requires a court to provide an adult adoptee information about tribal affiliation and parentage needed to establish tribal membership, notwithstanding Michigan’s general confidentiality rules for adoption records.

## Decision

- The Michigan Court of Appeals reversed the probate court’s order denying Hanson’s request and remanded for further proceedings consistent with ICWA.
- The court held that Hanson's petition was a “subsequent proceeding” within ICWA’s scope, so the probate court erred by treating the matter as governed only by Michigan’s state-law standards for opening sealed adoption records.
- The court held that 25 U.S.C. § 1917 applies to qualifying requests by adult Indian adoptees and requires the court (or agency involved in the adoptive placement) to provide information about tribal affiliation and other information necessary for the adoptee to establish tribal membership.
- Because the probate court did not apply the ICWA framework and instead denied the request on state-law grounds, reversal and remand were required.

## Legal Principles

- ICWA can apply after the entry of an adoption decree; post-adoption requests connected to an Indian adoptee’s rights may qualify as “subsequent proceedings” under the Act.
- Under 25 U.S.C. § 1917, upon request by an adult Indian adoptee, the court that entered the adoption decree must provide information regarding the adoptee’s tribal affiliation and other information necessary to establish tribal membership or related rights.
- When ICWA applies, its federal requirements control over conflicting or more restrictive state adoption-record confidentiality rules.
- A court addressing an adult adoptee’s request connected to tribal affiliation must analyze the request under ICWA rather than denying relief solely under a state “good cause” standard for unsealing records.

## Conclusion

The Michigan Court of Appeals reversed the probate court’s denial of Elaine Hanson’s request for access to adoption information, holding that ICWA applies to her post-adoption request as a subsequent proceeding and that § 1917 requires the probate court to provide the tribal-affiliation and related information necessary for an adult Indian adoptee to determine and prove tribal membership, even where state law generally keeps adoption records sealed.


In re Hanson, 470 N.W.2d 669 (1991)