Today we celebrate the US Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Indian Child Welfare Act.
By a 7-to-2 vote, the court upheld the law's preferences for Native tribes when Indian children are involved in state court adoption and foster care proceedings, ruling that the law does not discriminate on the basis of race and does not impermissibly impose a federal mandate on traditionally state-regulated areas of power.
It also affirms the unique political status of tribes as sovereign nations within the United States.
ICWA was passed in 1978 in response to the United States’ alarming history of separating almost all Native children from their families and forcing them into non-Native placements, intentionally removing them from their culture to threaten the future of Tribes. ICWA intended to repair this especially disparate treatment, adding special protections to child welfare cases involving Native children that discourage their placement outside of their families or Tribes, unless necessary.
“The court rejected all of the challenges to the Indian Child Welfare Act. We are ecstatic, relieved and heartened by this decision. For more than a century tribes have fought to protect their children, and this law enacted only 45 years ago, strengthens Native families by giving them a voice,” said Misty Flowers, executive director of the Nebraska Indian Child Welfare Coalition.
“We are not a racial group, we are sovereign nations and as such we should always have the right to govern ourselves, to protect our families and preserve our culture through our children.”
We would like to thank all of our supporters for their hard work and dedication to preserving tribes’ right to protect their children. ICWA truly is the gold standard for child welfare practices and culture IS a protective factor!
Please visit us at nicwc.org for more information about the ICWA and to get involved with us and our amazing partners!