GREAT NEWS CHIEF YOU GET TO KEEP YOUR KIDS
SCOTUS UPHOLDS NATIVE AMERICAN ADOPTION LAW
In a surprising turn of events, the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Native American tribes being able to keep their own children. Yes, you read that right – apparently, some people thought it was okay to take Native American children away from their families and give them to non-Native American families for adoption. But thankfully, the court has put a stop to that nonsense.
The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) was enacted in 1978 to give preference to Native American families in foster care and adoption proceedings involving Native American children. But some white couple from Texas thought they could just waltz in and adopt a Native American boy over the objections of his tribe. They argued that the law violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment and discriminated based on race. But the court shut them down, saying that Congress had the authority to pass the law as part of its power to regulate Indian affairs. Boom.
This victory for Native American tribes is especially important given the history of Indian schools in the U.S. In case you didn't know, the U.S. government established a network of boarding schools for Native American children in the late 19th century with the goal of "civilizing the savage" and erasing their tribal ways. Yeah, that's right – they thought it was their job to "kill the Indian in him, and save the man." The schools separated children from their families and communities, cut their hair, changed their names, forbade them from speaking their languages, and taught them vocational skills and Christian values. Many children faced physical, sexual, and emotional abuse at the schools, and many died from disease, malnutrition, or suicide. It's a pretty messed up part of our history.
Thankfully, the boarding school policy was eventually replaced by other forms of Indian education that gave more autonomy and choice to Native American families. But the legacy of trauma and loss still affects many Native American communities today. So it's good to see the Supreme Court taking a step in the right direction by upholding the ICWA.
In conclusion, let's all take a moment to appreciate the fact that Native American tribes will be able to keep their own children. It's a small victory in a long struggle for justice and equality, but it's still something to celebrate. And maybe we can all learn something from this – like, maybe we shouldn't try to "civilize" people who have been living on this land for thousands of years. Just a thought.
Supreme Court Upholds Native American Adoption Law https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/15/us/supreme-court-native-american-children-tribes.html
Supreme Court upholds adoption law aiming to keep Native American children with tribes https://www.yahoo.com/news/supreme-court-upholds-adoption-law-143709892.html
