At the start of Native American Heritage Month, the native community is facing a case that is a reminder of a dark and recent time in history. 

During the late 19th and into the early 20th centuries, it was common for native children to be forcibly removed from homes, adopted into white families, sent to boarding schools and forced to assimilate. Native American children were stripped of their culture and forced to adapt to the dominant white American culture. 

In response to the mass number of Native American children that were taken by state welfare and adoption agencies over the years, the Indian Child Welfare Act was enacted by Congress in 1978 to keep Native American children with their families.

On November 9, 2022, the Supreme Court will hear Brackeen v. Haaland, a case brought by the states of Texas, Louisiana and Indiana that seeks to overturn the Indian Child Welfare Act. (ICWA) 

How is this harmful to Native Communities?

Without the Indian Child Welfare Act, history will repeat itself as native communities will be left vulnerable to their youth, family structure and traditions being taken. 

“It’s a really important human rights issue in terms of culture.  This case gets into a lot of issues like the privacy of families, the right for parents to raise their children with a culture and an identity.” said social studies teacher Rebecca Dibrienza. 

If you want to take action and help protect the right of indigenous children, please sign the petition from The Lakota People’s Law Project Action Project: https://action.lakotalaw.org/action/protect-icwa