The U.S. Supreme Court recently announced it will grant cert to, or hear, Brackeen v. Haaland, a case that challenges the Indian Child Welfare Act.
The Indian Child Welfare Act, also known as ICWA, establishes federal standards for the placement of Indigenous children in foster or adoptive homes. Sometimes referred to as a “gold standard” for child protective services, ICWA aims to protect Indigenous children by giving the child’s tribe and family the opportunity to be involved in decisions they previously may have been excluded from, including determining services and placement for a child.
In a joint statement released on Monday, Chuck Hoskin Jr., principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, Charles Martin, chairman of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, Tehassi Hill, chairman of the Oneida Nation, and Guy Capoeman, president of the Quinault Indian Nation, said they “look forward to once again seeing ICWA fully upheld, as courts have repeatedly done for over four decades.”